Indian American astronaut raja chari

Raja chari

Cape Canaveral (USA): SpaceX has sent four astronauts to the International Space Station. 44-year-old Indian American Raja Chari has been made mission commander for this mission. He is a trained pilot of a US Air Force fighter jet.

The other three members are Kayla Barron, 34, Tom Marshburn and Matthias Maurer. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that among the four people who left for space on Wednesday, Germany's Matthias Maurer, who has been described as the 600th person to go to space. He and the other three NASA astronauts should reach the space station within 24 hours.

The vehicle had returned due to bad weather
After a long delay due to various reasons including bad weather, the SpaceX rocket finally took off with these astronauts on Wednesday. Two days ago, SpaceX returned from the spacecraft with four other astronauts back to Earth.

Due to bad weather, there was a long delay in take-off of the rocket. Four astronauts said goodbye to their families amidst drizzle on Wednesday night. Meteorologists had forecast the weather to be clear and it also improved.

These interplanetary travelers returned after 200 days
Significantly, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbero and Megan MacArthur, Japan's Akihito Hoshide and France's Thomas Pesquet returned to Earth from a SpaceX capsule two days ago. He had returned after spending 200 days in the space center.

American astronaut Raja Chari 

Raja Chari was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported for duty in August 2017. The Iowa native graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1999 with a bachelor’s degrees in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Science. He continued on to earn a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He is currently serving as commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS, which launched on November 10, 2021.

Raja Chari  Personal Data:
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Chari was raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is married to Holly Schaffter Chari, also a Cedar Falls native, and the couple has three children. 

Education:
Graduated from Columbus High School in Waterloo, Iowa. Earned a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. Earned a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. Graduated from US Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Experience:
At the time of his selection in June 2017, Chari was a Colonel select 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 2,500 hours of flight time in the F-35, F-15, F-16, and F-18 including F-15E combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployments in support of the Korean peninsula.

NASA Experience:
Chari reported for duty in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate. He then served as the Director of the Joint Test Team for the NASA Commercial Crew Program. He is currently serving as commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS, which launched on November 10, 2021.

Awards/Honors:

Awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, an Iraq Campaign Medal, a Korean Defense Service Medal and the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal. Named distinguished graduate from the US Air Force Academy, Undergraduate Pilot Training, and the F-15E Formal Training Unit.