We have been following the careers of the “starship sailors” Mark and Scott Kelly for several years now. The twin brothers from New Jersey are both graduates of merchant maritime academies, both became Captains in the Navy, and both subsequently became NASA astronauts and spent time in space. 

Another “starship sailor” is now training with NASA to become an astronaut. Jonathan Yong Kim, who goes by Jonny, is a 35-year-old Korean-American ex-Navy SEAL and physician. Born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, he joined the Navy after graduating high school where he passed SEAL training and joined SEAL Team 3. He served as a combat medic and sniper on more than 100 missions on two deployments to the Middle East. He earned multiple citations and awards for his service including a Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat “V”.

In 2009, Kim enrolled at the University of San Diego and graduated summa cum laude in 2012 with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics. Kim went on to earn a Doctorate of Medicine from Harvard Medical School in 2016. 

Kim worked as a resident physician in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, until he applied and was accepted into the NASA Astronaut Candidate Program. He was one of only twelve of over 18,000 applicants to be accepted. In June 2017, Dr. Kim was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22, and began his two-year training in August.

Of the twelve trainees, Dr. Kim is one of three from immigrant families. Marine Corps Major Jasmin Moghbeli and Air Force Colonel Raja Chari come from Iranian and Indian immigrant families, respectively.