Nasa selects Indian-American Raja Chari as commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission Nasa selects Indian-American Raja Chari as commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission Raja Chari, 43, is a colonel in the US Air Force. He will be the commander of SpaceX Crew-3 mission that is expected to be launched next year. advertisement Colonel Raja Chari. (Photo: Twiiter/Astro_Raja) 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. Raja Chari, 43, 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.