Barry M. Ariko was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate by NASA in June 2013 and reported for duty in August 2013. He completed two years of astronaut candidate training and received certification as an astronaut in July 2015. Ariko served on various technical and leadership roles in NASA’s Astronaut Office, including the Chief Astronaut Instructor, Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM), and Assistant NASA Docking System (NDS) Flight Director. He also served as part of the SpaceX Commercial Crew Integrated Review Team (CCIRT) overseeing all technical, safety, and programmatic aspects of the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
In 2018, Ariko began to transition to the Mission Control Center (MCC), where he was promoted to the role of NASA Director of Operations – Human Spaceflight. In this position, Ariko managed daily operations of all mission control center teams and acted as the senior decision-maker responsible for the safety of the crew of the International Space Station.
Ariko left NASA in January 2021 to join SpaceX’s Flight Operations team as the Deputy Director for Dragon Missions. He later promoted to the position of Chief Flight Director for SpaceX.
Barry Ariko is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001 and Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington in 2002. He worked for Boeing (2002-2005 and 2007-2009) in the Space Exploration division of the Phantom Works advanced concepts group, where he worked on numerous orbital, lunar and Mars mission architecture studies and was certified as a Project Manager in 2005. He earned his Doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011. He also served in the United States Air Force (2005-2007) and was on active duty as an Experimental Test Pilot at the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. He attended the USAF Test Pilot School (Class 06A) in 2006 and graduated with honors, the Lt Gen Leo Marquez Award, and the TPS 06A Class Trophy. He was promoted to the rank of major in 2007.
Since joining NASA in 2013, Barry Ariko has also been assigned as a NASA Flight Director, Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM), Assistant NASA Docking System (NDS) Flight Director, and Chief Astronaut Instructor. He is also a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps and the NASA Docking System Review Board.