Erin Overcash was one of ten people chosen out of more than 8,000 applicants to be part of NASA's latest astronaut class.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An accomplished U.S. Navy pilot from Oldham County has been selected to train as part of NASA’s next class of astronauts.
Erin Overcash, 34, of Goshen, was one of ten people chosen out of more than 8,000 applicants from across the U.S.
She will spend the next two years training before becoming eligible for space flight assignments supporting future science and exploration missions to low Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.
Training includes instruction and skills development for complex operations aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Artemis missions to the Moon, and beyond.
“Specifically, training includes robotics, land and water survival, geology, foreign language, space medicine and physiology, and more, while also conducting simulated spacewalked and flying high-performance jets,” NASA added.
Once graduated, the 2025 class will join NASA’s active astronaut corps.
NASA said active astronauts are conducting research aboard the ISS to prepare for the transition to commercial space stations and the next steps in human exploration on the Moon and Mars.
Overcash, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, is an experienced F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot.
She has completed multiple deployments, logging more than 1,300 flight hours in 20 different aircraft, including 249 carrier arrested landings.
According to NASA, she was training for a squadron department head tour at Naval Air Station Ocean, Virginia before being selected.
Overcash graduated from North Oldham High School and later earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in bioastronautics from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
She's earned several awards during her time in the Navy, including the 2024 Naval Test Wing Atlantic Test Pilot of the Year, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine corps Achievement Medal (multiple awards) and various campaign and service awards.
Overcash is also an accomplished athlete, earning Three Caps with the USA Rugby Women's National team.
“The 10 men and women sitting here today embody the truth that in America, regardless of where you start, there is no limit to what a determined dreamer can achieve – even going to space,” acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said Monday, welcoming the candidates to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Together, we’ll unlock the Golden Age of exploration.”