NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have selected Indian-American Raja Chari to be the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station. Presently Raja Chari, is a colonel in the US Air Force. He will be the commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission, while Nasa’s Tom Marshburn will be pilot and ESA’s Matthias Maurer will serve as a mission specialist. This mission is expected to be launched next year.
When Chari, Marshburn, and Maurer arrive at the orbiting laboratory, they will become expedition crew members for the duration of their six-month stay. The crew will have a slight overlap with the Crew-2 astronauts, who are expected to launch in the spring of 2021.
WARRIOR 4.0 | Banking Awareness Batch for SBI, RRB, RBI and IBPS Exams | Bilingual | Live Class
About Raja Chari:
- Chari was born in Milwaukee, but considers Cedar Falls, Iowa, his hometown. Raja Chari’s father Srinivas Chari left for the US from Hyderabad at a young age for an engineering degree.
- He is a colonel in the US Air Force and joins the mission with extensive experience as a test pilot.
- For Raja Chari, this will be the first spaceflight. He became a Nasa astronaut in 2017.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine.
- Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.