Gopi Thotakura, born in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada, has created a history by being the first Indian space tourist and second Indian to venture into space, as he was part of the elite crew for Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 (NS-25) mission. The NS-25 mission took off from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site in the US around 8:05 pm on Sunday (May 19), an hour late from its scheduled time.
With this, the Blue Origin has now completed its seventh human spaceflight and 25th flight for the New Shepard programme. This also marks a milestone of New Shepard flying 37 people into space now.
Reportedly, the NS-25 had a crew of six members including Indian entrepreneur and pilot Thotakura. Other five members who took the journey to Earth’s atmosphere were Ed Dwight, Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L Hess and Carol Schaller. Interestingly, 90-year old America’s black astronaut candidate, Ed Dwight is the oldest person in the crew to travel space. He rocketed after a long years gap.
Who is Gopi Thotakura?
Thotakura is an Indian descendant trained pilot, with a B.Sc in aeronautical science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has worked in medical air evacuation services in India.
Blue Origin in a post on X, formerly Twitter, wrote, “Gopi Thotakura is a lifelong pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive. He flies jets commercially, in addition to piloting bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes. He’s also the co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness and applied health.”
Indians who travelled space so far
Prior to Gopi Thotakura, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the only Indian citizen to travel space as a tourist. On April 3, 1984, as a part of Soviet Interkosmos programme, Sharma flew in Soyuz T-11 as a professional cosmonaut to space. Apart from Sharma, Kalpana Chawala, Sunita Williams, Raja Chari and Sirisha Bandla are the Indian origin astronauts to travel space, however they all are US citizens.