LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Out of ten new possible NASA astronauts, one Navy pilot and Oldham County native says she’s ready for the next two challenging years ahead.
It’s been a journey that’s taken Lieutenant Commander Erin Overcash to Colorado. Test Pilot School out on the East Coast and over to Japan, the Pacific, and the Middle East on deployment.
She would tell you her first dream was to be a Navy pilot, but along the way, the prospect of joining NASA seemed like an opportunity worth applying for.
NASA had more than 8,000 applicants from across the country in this class.
Lt. Commander Overcash, a North Oldham High School grad from Goshen, made it through two rounds of intense interviews before getting that call of a lifetime in July.
One highlight in her skill-set, she’s an experienced FA18E pilot, having already logged more than 1,300 flight hours inside 20 different aircraft, and she wasted little time showing her gratitude for her support system back home.
“Very fortunate to have an incredible school system and really supportive parents and teachers always challenge me. I was that kid who was glued to the airplane window growing up, so obsessed with all things aviation and space flight from an early age. And, you know, had mentors and teachers identify that and really push me to be better and never just accept good enough. ‘Keep going for, keep going for as best as you possibly can and let that kind of lead your path in life,’” Overcash said.
So after Monday’s big announcement, Commander Overcash knows the real work is already starting next week: language training followed by survival training with her class in environments these possible astronauts may encounter.
Watch the full interview with Commander Overcash below:
Watch the full interview between WAVE’s José Zozaya and Lieutenant Commander Erin Overcash, an Oldham County native who’s a part of NASA’s astronaut class.
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