Raja Chari to command SpaceX Crew-3 mission! Who is Chari and his mission explained

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has signed a contract with SpaceX, under its Commercial Crew Programme for six crew missions where NASA astronauts will go to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-3 mission is also a part of this signed contract. And it is for this mission, Raja Chari has been selected as one of the three astronauts and he will command the mission as well, a report by The IE said. The idea is to come up with safe, cost-effective, and reliable access to the space station.

It is to note that during the mission, the crew members going to the ISS will be spending six months there and it is likely that their stay will overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts for a short duration. According to NASA, an increase in the total number of astronauts at the space station will give impetus to the number of science investigations conducted in the microgravity environment.

The report noted that for the Crew-3 mission, Indian-American Raja Chari along with Tom Marshburn and Matthias Maurer have been selected by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). While Chari is the commander, Maurer will serve as a mission specialist and Marshburn will be the pilot. NASA will also pick a fourth member who will be joining the crew. The mission is expected to launch next year during the fall.

Earlier this year, Chari became one of the 11 astronauts who is joining NASA’s ranks. The selected ones have completed more than two years of basic training and then became the first graduates from the Artemis programme offered by NASA. Chari joined NASA in 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class and completed his initial training. He was selected for NASA’s Artemis programme last month. Notably, the Artemis programme is aimed to train astronauts to become the next ones to step on the Moon by 2024.

Chari has been an US Air Force colonel. He secured a Bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering and engineering science from the US Air Force Academy. He later pursued Masters in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is also a graduate from the US Naval Test Pilot School. Prior to joining NASA, he had served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron as well as the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California. With SpaceX, he will take his first mission in outer space.