Iowa native astronaut Raja Chari was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class.
Iowa native astronaut Raja Chari was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with bachelor’s degrees in astronautical engineering and engineering science, and later earned a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
At the time of his selection in June 2017, Chari was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, serving as the Commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the Director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. He has accumulated more than 2,000 hours of flight time in the F-35, F-15, F-16, and F-18.
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Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls