[ad_1]
The Latinx community has one more reason to celebrate today. NASA recently selected a Puerto Rican born in Tennessee Marcos Gabriel Berrios to join the class of 2021 astronaut candidates. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, BerrÃos takes office in January 2022. He is an Air Force test pilot and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Boricua also has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. Marcos is an experienced pilot and has accumulated over 110 combat missions and 1,300 flying hours in over 21 different aircraft.
NASA reported that BerrÃos began his career as an aerospace engineer for the United States Army’s Aviation Development Directorate at Moffett Field, Calif., In 2011. There his research focused on understanding the dynamic behavior of using two helicopters to carry a single external load and the associated load. flight control challenges.
That same year, he began his operational pilot career as a National Guard and HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue Helicopter Pilot (CSAR) assigned to the 129th Rescue Squadron of the California Air National Guard at Moffett Field. . He later deployed to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where he conducted casualty evacuation and special operations missions.
In 2019, BerrÃos reported for service at the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md., And upon graduation he was assigned to the CSAR Combined Test Force at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. as a development test pilot.
When NASA selected Marcos as its astronaut candidate, he served as the commander of Detachment 1, 413 Flight Test Squadron and deputy director of Combined Task Force CSAR.
When BerrÃos is not flying he enjoys hiking, weight training and swimming.
[ad_2]
