NASA Astronaut Candidate Erin Overcash

Erin “LOFT” Overcash, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy 

Summary

Erin Overcash was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025. She is a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy. Overcash holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in bioastronautics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She also is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. She is an experienced F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot and has completed multiple deployments. Overcash has logged more than 1,300 flight hours in 20 different aircraft, including 249 carrier arrested landings. At the time of her selection, she was training for a squadron department head tour at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. 

Personal

Overcash was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but she considers Goshen, Kentucky, her hometown, where her parents still reside. She enjoys reading, adventure motorcycling, challenging workouts, and spending time with friends and family. She is married to another naval aviator. 

Education

Overcash graduated from North Oldham High School in Goshen, Kentucky. She earned her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2014. She then completed a master’s degree in bioastronautics with a certificate in engineering entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado in 2017. Overcash also attended U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, graduating with Class 162 in 2023. 

Experience

Early in her career, Overcash was a member of the U.S. Navy’s World Class Athlete Program, living and training full-time at the Olympic Training Center with the USA Rugby Women’s National Team. She attended U.S. Navy flight school, earning her wings in January 2018. She then qualified in the F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California.  

From 2019 to 2022, Overcash was an operational pilot flying the F/A-18F with Strike Fighter Squadron 102, stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and deployed multiple times through the Pacific and Middle East. From 2023 to 2025, she served as an F/A-18E, F/A-18F, and EA-18G Growler test pilot, during which she also served as a Service Chief Fellow at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the fall of 2024.  

At the time of her selection, she was training for an operational tour as an F/A-18E department head at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. Overcash has logged more than 1,300 flight hours in 20 different aircraft, including 249 carrier arrested landings. 

NASA Experience

Overcash reported for duty in September 2025 to complete two years of initial astronaut training. 

Awards/Honors

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 ribbons. Overcash earned Three Caps with the USA Rugby Women’s National Team, is a two-time Kentucky State Champion High Jumper, and is an Ironman Triathlete. 

Organizations

Member of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the 99s, and Women Military Aviators