New NASA Astronaut: Ben Bailey

Bio
Ben Bailey, a chief warrant officer in the United States Army, was born and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia. An experienced Army aviator and test pilot, he has accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours in over 30 different rotary and fixed-wing aircraft.

Bailey enjoys outdoor activities such as sailing, skiing, rock climbing, and backpacking with his wife, Dylan.

He graduated from The Covenant School in Charlottesville and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia. He is pursuing a master’s in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Bailey is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

Background
Bailey served as an experimental test pilot specializing in developmental testing of emerging technologies aboard UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47F Chinook helicopters from 2022 until his selection. From 2016 to 2022, he was a UH-60M Black Hawk pilot at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, where he deployed in support of overseas operations and served as an instructor pilot training and evaluating unit pilots.

Before joining the Army, Bailey worked as a nuclear engineer constructing aircraft carrier propulsion plants. He reported for duty in September 2025 to complete two years of initial astronaut training.