Jonny Kim: From Navy SEAL to Doctor to Astronaut

Illustrated career portrait of Jonny Kim shown as a Navy SEAL, physician, and astronaut

Jonny Kim has already lived several careers that would normally stand alone. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school in 2002, became a Navy SEAL, and served as a combat medic, sniper, navigator and point man during more than 100 combat operations. His decorations include the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat “V.”

Kim then changed direction without leaving public service. He earned a mathematics degree from the University of San Diego and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 2016, followed by emergency-medicine training in Boston. NASA’s official biography of his departure records the unusual sequence: SEAL, physician, naval officer and eventually astronaut.

NASA announced Kim’s Soyuz MS-27 assignment ahead of his first spaceflight.

At 33, Kim was selected for NASA’s 2017 astronaut class. While serving at NASA, he added another qualification: in 2023 he earned his naval aviator “Wings of Gold,” becoming dual-designated as a naval aviator and flight surgeon.

NASA Johnson interviewed Kim when he reported as a 2017 astronaut candidate.

His first spaceflight finally came on April 8, 2025. Kim launched aboard Soyuz MS-27 and served as a flight engineer on Expeditions 72 and 73. NASA recorded 245 days in space, 3,920 Earth orbits and nearly 104 million miles before the crew landed in Kazakhstan on December 9.

Kim reflected on launch, arrival and the start of life aboard the International Space Station.
NASA Johnson’s “Lifelong Learning” profile followed Kim as he prepared for his first ISS mission.

Kim’s flight came during a busy period for the station. BitcoinVersus.Tech has recently covered the final ISS roll-out solar arrays, NASA’s search for commercial stations to follow the ISS, and another crew returning after eight months in orbit.

On August 27, 2026, Kim left NASA after nearly a decade with the agency. He returned to active Navy service as a lieutenant commander, with NASA saying he would finish the remainder of his military career in naval aviation training. The astronaut chapter ended, but the career did not.

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12 responses to “Jonny Kim: From Navy SEAL to Doctor to Astronaut”

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