Announcing George Mason Space Day 2026 Speaker, Space Force's Brigadier General Nick Hague
Join us Saturday, September 26 for George Mason Space Day 2026 and hear from experts in the field of astronomy and astrophysics, including Brigadier General Nick Hague.
Brig. Gen. Nick Hague is the Assistant Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Headquarters United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Washington D.C. As the Space Force’s Assistant Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Brig. Gen. Hague is responsible for the development and implementation of policy for all U. S. Space Force global operations, sustainment, training and readiness.
Prior to this assignment, Brig. Gen. Hague served as an active Astronaut at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. He served as the NASA SpaceX Crew-9 Commander which launched on Sept. 28, 2024, and returned on March 18, 2025, for 171 days. During Expedition 72, Hague and fellow American crew members conducted more than 150 unique experiments and logged over 900 hours of research aboard the orbiting laboratory. Hague completed a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Suni Williams replacing a rate gyro assembly, patching damaged areas on the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray telescope, and evaluating procedures for future Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer repairs.
Brig. Gen. Hague was commissioned from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has served on active duty for over 25 years in a variety of educational, research, developmental test, program management and operational positions. After earning his Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he served as an Air Force Research Laboratory Program Manager developing advanced spacecraft technologies. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and served as Chief Flight Test Engineer including deployed experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom conducting experimental airborne reconnaissance. Brig. Gen. Hague then instructed Astronautics at the Air Force Academy. Following his legislative fellowship program, he served as the Congressional Appropriations Liaison for United States Central Command. At the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, Brig. Gen. Hague served as the Deputy Division Chief for research and development. After completing astronaut candidate training, he joined NASA’s Active Astronaut Corps. He then served as the Director of Test and Evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Space Force, responsible for the test workforce, infrastructure and related policy.
Brig. Gen. Hague has accumulated more than 15,000 flying hours in 37 spacecraft and aircraft as both a Flight TestEngineer and Astronaut. He completed three spaceflights, amassing 374 days in space performing operations aboard the International Space Station including four spacewalks.
