American astronaut (born 1977)
Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari (born June 24, 1977)[ 1] test pilot and NASA astronaut.[ 2] United States Air Force Academy , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School , and has over 2,000 flying hours. He is a brigadier general in the United States Air Force .
Early life and education
Chari was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , to Peggy Egbert and Sreenivas V. Chari from India.[ 3] [ 4] Cedar Falls, Iowa , and attended Columbus High School , graduating in 1995. He attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado , and graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in astronautical engineering and engineering science , with a minor in mathematics . Following his graduation, Chari attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a Draper Fellow, earning a Master of Science in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 2001.
Air Force career
After earning his graduate degree in 2001, Chari attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base , Oklahoma . He then attended F-15E Strike Eagle training at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base , North Carolina and, following completion of the training syllabus, subsequently served as an F-15E Evaluator Pilot and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation with the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB , Alaska and 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath , England , deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom .
In 2007, Chari attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River , Maryland as an Air Force exchange officer, and, following graduation a year later, was assigned to the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB , Florida , where he served as the project pilot for the APG-63 and APG-82 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar programs. Chari also attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , served as a time-sensitive targeting officer in the United States Central Command's Combined Joint Operations Center, and was a program manager for a major defense acquisition program in the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office . At the time of his selection as an Astronaut in June 2017, Chari was serving as commanding officer of the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB , California .[ 5] [ 6]
In January 2023, Chari was nominated for promotion to brigadier general.[ 7]
NASA career
In June 2017, Chari was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 22 , and reported for duty in August to begin two years of training as an astronaut.[ 8] [ 9]
In December 2020, Chari was selected as part of the Artemis Team, a group of astronauts "to help pave the way for the next lunar missions including sending the first woman and next man to walk on the lunar surface in 2024."[ 10] SpaceX Crew-3 , which he commanded.[ 11] Joe Engle , who commanded the STS-2 mission in 1981.
On March 23, 2022, Chari and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer exited the Quest Joint AirlockEVA . However, Maurer's helmet camera became loose, delaying the start of the activities by an hour. Chari ultimately secured it using wire, and the spacewalk was completed successfully.[ 12]
Personal life
Chari is married to Holly Schaffter Chari, also a Cedar Falls native, and the couple have three children.[ 8]
Awards and honors
During his Air Force career, Chari was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal , the Meritorious Service Medal , the Aerial Achievement Medal , the Air Force Commendation Medal , the Air Force Achievement Medal , the Iraq Campaign Medal , the Korean Defense Service Medal , and the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal . Chari is an Eagle Scout , and was a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Undergraduate Pilot Training.[ 8] [ 13]
References
public domain material from Mark Garcia. Astronaut Raja Chari National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Retrieved July 6, 2021 .
^ "Raja Chari NASA Astronaut" . spacefacts.de . Retrieved March 2, 2023 .^ "SpaceX Crew-3 mission to help test space tech: Raja Chari" . The Times of India . October 28, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022 .^ "Sreenivas V. "Shari" Chari (1942-2010)" . The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier ^ Daniel, Vaihayasi Pande (August 16, 2017). "The next Indian astronaut" . Rediff.com ^ Timperlake, Edward; Laird, Robin (March 24, 2016). "Lieutenant Colonel Raja Chari Talks About the Way Ahead with the F-35: The Renorming of Airpower Seen from Edwards" . F-35 Global News . Second Line of Defense. Retrieved September 14, 2018 . ^ "Outgoing 461st FLTS commander selected for astronaut training" . 412th Test Wing Public Affairs. June 7, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2018 .^ "PN196 - 27 nominees for Air Force, | Congress.gov | Library of Congress" .^ a b c Garcia, Mark (February 7, 2018). "Astronaut Candidate Raja Chari" . NASA . Retrieved September 14, 2018 . ^ Harwood, William (June 7, 2017). "NASA introduces 12 new astronauts" . CBS News CBS Broadcasting . Retrieved June 8, 2017 . ^ "NASA The Artemis Team" . NASA. Retrieved December 11, 2020 .^ Potter, Sean (December 14, 2020). "NASA, ESA Choose Astronauts for SpaceX Crew-3 Mission to Space Station" . NASA . Retrieved December 14, 2020 . ^ "Spacewalking astronauts restore radiator, replace space station camera after wardrobe malfunction" . Space.com ^ Swartz, Clay (June 9, 2017). "Meet Eagle Scout Raja Chari, one of NASA's newest astronauts" . Bryan on Scouting . Scouting Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2018 . 11. Srivastava, Namrata (May 30, 2021). "NASA’s space mission Commander has Telangana roots" . Telangana Today. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
External links
