Indian American Raja Chari, the US Air Force fighter pilot, is going to command SpaceX’s Crew-3.
Who is Raja Chari?
Raja Chari or, Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari, was born in Wisconsin’s Milwaukee city to Sreenivas V Chari and Peggy Egbert. His father moved to the US from Hyderabad, India for his master’s degree after graduating from Osmania University. Earlier this month, Chari was selected as a member of NASA’s Artemis program. This makes Chari eligible for future missions. NASA wants to send the first woman and man to the Moon in the next three years.
Raja Chari graduated from the US Air Force Academy with a degree in aeronautics and astronautics. He then obtained his master’s degree in the same field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School. In 2017, Chari became a NASA astronaut. However, this will be his debut space flight. However, prior to this, Chari was a Colonel in the Air Force and was serving as the Commander of the 461st Flight Squadron. While in the Air Force, he raked over 2,500 flying hours in the F-15, F-16, F-18, and F-35.
More on the SpaceX Crew-3
Space’s Crew-3 mission is a collaboration between NASA and SpaceX. Under NASA’s Commercial Crew Programme contract, SpaceX is providing six crew missions to the International Space Station for NASA astronauts. With this mission, safe, reliable, and cost-effective crew obtain access to the low-earth orbit and space station.
Crew members of the SpaceX Crew-3 will be spending six months in the International Space Station (ISS). Their stay will overlap with the stay of astronauts from the Crew-2 mission. Apart from Chari, other members of the crew are Kayla Barron, Matthias Maurer (from the ESA), and Tom Marshburn. The group of four astronauts will be lifting off to space from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida.