Raja Chari
Born Name: Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari
Date of Birthday: June 24, 1977
Place of Birth: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Status: Active
Alma mater: United States Air Force Academy (BS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)
Space career
NASA Astronaut
Current occupation: Fighter pilot
Rank: Colonel, USAF
Time in space: Currently in space
Selection: NASA Group 22
Total EVAs: None
Missions: SpaceX Crew-3 (Expedition 66)
Raja Jon Vurputoor "Grinder" Chari (born June 24, 1977; Colonel, United States Air Force) is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, and has over 2,000 flying hours.
Early life and education
Chari was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Peggy Egbert and Sreenivas V Chari, born in Telangana, India. He was raised in 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
Following completion of his graduate studies, Chari attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He attended F-15E Strike Eagle training at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina and was subsequently stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska and RAF Lakenheath, England, deploying in support of the Iraq War. In 2007, Chari attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland as an Air Force Exchange Officer, and was a developmental test pilot 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, and served as a CENTCOM time sensitive targeting officer. At the time of his selection as an Astronaut in June 2017, Chari was serving as the commanding officer of the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, California.
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.
In December 2020, Chari was selected to be a 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." The same month, he became the first astronaut from Group 22 to be selected for a space mission, of which he is currently in command, SpaceX Crew-3. Chari is the first NASA rookie to command a spaceflight since Gerald Carr, who commanded the Skylab 4 mission in 1973.
Personal life
Chari is married to Holly Schaffter Chari, also a Cedar Falls native, and the couple has three children.
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.
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