New astronauts include two with Edwards ties
NASA on Friday graduated its most recent class of astronauts, the men and women who will help take the space agency back to the surface of the moon and ultimately to Mars.
“These individuals represent the best of America, and what an incredible time for them to join our astronaut corps,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the graduation ceremony took place.
“2020 will mark the return of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, and will be an important year of progress for our Artemis program and missions to the Moon and beyond.”
The graduation included two Canadian Space Agency astronauts, who have spent the past two years training alongside their NASA counterparts.
As has been the case since the very first class of astronauts, the Mercury 7,
experience at Edwards Air Force Base played a role for more than one astronaut in this latest group of 13 new space travelers.
When he was selected for astronaut training in 2017, Air Force Col. Raja Chari was commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron, where he oversaw developmental testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and simultaneously served as director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force.
From Cedar Falls, Iowa, Chari graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with 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 in Patuxent River, Maryland.
Chari relinquished command of the test squadron to join NASA’s astronaut training.
While Chari’s ties to Edwards were immediate to his selection, another astronaut in his class also knows the base well.
Bob Hines graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School with a master’s degree in Flight Test Engineering in 2008. At the time he attended the school, the
Air Force pilot had been flying F-15E fighters, and he continued to support the aircraft through flight tests at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida as active duty Air Force and Air Force Reserves.
In 2012, Hines joined the research pilot team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, a position he held until his selection in 2017.
The newest members of the astronaut corps brings the total of active members to 48. NASA is also considering plans to open the application process this spring for the next class of astronaut candidates.
The most recent NASA astronauts were chosen in 2017 from a record-setting pool of more than 18,000 applicants. It was also the largest astronaut candidate class since 2000, according to NASA officials.
Astronaut candidate training for the new graduates included instruction, practice, and testing in spacewalking, robotics, International Space Station systems, T-38 jet proficiency, and Russian language. As astronauts, they will help develop spacecraft, support the teams currently in space and ultimately join the ranks of only about 500 people who have flown into space, according to NASA officials.