In what is being termed as an “out of this world experience”, the Rahr West Art Museum invites the public to come see NASA Astronaut and Space X Mission Commander Raja Chari this evening in the Manitowoc Lincoln High School Auditorium.
Executive Director Greg Vadney says festivities begin at 7:00 p.m.
“Commander Chari was the Commander of the NASA Space X Crew mission to the International Space Station beginning in November of last year, and running through May of this year,” he explained. “To give you an Idea, Raja Chari has spent more days in 2022 off of the earth than on the earth.”
Chari is an Air Force Pilot, who flew missions in Korea and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Then, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to obtain his aeronautics degree.
Chari was born in Milwaukee and raised in Iowa, but this is a bit of a homecoming for him as he has lots of family that live in the Manitowoc area.
The Clipper City and space will be forever connected as the result of a piece of the Russian satellite Sputnik crashing on the city’s north side more than fifty years ago.
Seehafer News asked Vadney if he ever entertained inviting Chari to attend Sputnikfest.
“We wanted to bring Raja here for Sputnikfest,” he revealed. “[But] because of NASA rules, and the fact that Sputnikfest is a fundraiser for the Rahr-West Art Museum, we weren’t able to do that. [NASA] won’t allow active astronauts to go to fundraising events. But, we still wanted to bring him here.”
Chari plans to speak for about 45 minutes to be followed by a question-and-answer period.
If you can’t attend, you can go to the Rahr West Art Museum’s Facebook page and drop a comment with a question.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free but limited based on seating availability.
