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.
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The Indian-American will command the mission, which is expected to launch in the fall of 2021.
Earlier this year in January, Chari became one of the 11 astronauts to join NASA’s ranks. The new graduates completed more than two years of basic training and became the first to graduate from NASA’s Artemis programme. Under the programme, NASA wants to send the next man and first woman to the Moon by 2024.
The Crew-3 mission is part of NASA’s contract with SpaceX, under its Commercial Crew Programme, as per which SpaceX will provide six crew missions to the ISS for NASA astronauts.
The idea is to provide reliable, safe and cost-effective crew access to the space station and the low-Earth orbit.
The crew members will spend six months at the ISS.