Indian-American Raja Chari among 3 on SpaceX mission

Washington, December 16

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Indian-American US Air Force Colonel Raja Chari has been selected as the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA and the European Space Agency. Chari, 43, will serve as the commander, while NASA’s Tom Marshburn will be pilot and ESA’s Matthias Maurer will serve as a mission specialist for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS, which is expected to launched next year.

A fourth crew member will be added at a later date, following a review by NASA and its international partners, NASA said in a statement on Monday. “Excited and honoured to be training with @astro_matthias and @AstroMarshburn in prep for a trip to the @Space_Station,” Chari said in a tweet. This will be the first spaceflight for Chari.

He was born in Milwaukee, but considers Cedar Falls, Iowa, his home. — PTI