Indian-born pilot Gopichad Thotakura is set to become the first citizen from India to fly into space as a tourist aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin spacecraft, New Shepard on Sunday.
Thotakura, a co-founder of a wellness company Preserve Life Corp and a seasoned pilot himself, was selected to join the six-member crew for Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission. This suborbital flight will take the crew on a brief journey beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, allowing them to experience the thrill of weightlessness and witness the curvature of the planet from space.
Captain Gopichand Thotakura, a veteran pilot hailing from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, has been selected for a journey to space aboard Blue Origin’s upcoming tourism flight. Captain Gopichand Thotakura, a veteran pilot hailing from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, has been selected for a journey to space aboard Blue Origin’s upcoming tourism flight.
He will ride aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft on a brief joyride to space along with Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight.
“It is an incredible honour to become India’s first civilian astronaut as I cross the Kármán line with Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission. Gopichand Thotakura’s fascination with flying began at the age of eight when he first set foot in the cockpit of a KLM aircraft.
The launch will occur at 7 pm IST, and can be watched on Blue Origin’s social media platforms. The event will be streamed 40 minutes before the launch from Launch Site One in West Texas, USA.
Notably, Gopi has made significant contributions to India’s medical aviation sector as a co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global centre for holistic wellness and applied health. His role as an international medical jet pilot has boosted emergency medical transportation in the Indian subcontinent, with over 2,000 medical air ambulance missions to his credit.His entrepreneurial endeavours also include the establishment of a multi-million-dollar wellness centre near Atlanta International Airport, demonstrating his commitment to holistic well-being and innovation.
Gopi has served as an international medical jet pilot and has flown commercial jets, bush planes, aerobatic planes, seaplanes, gliders, and hot air balloons. He has performed over 2000 medical air ambulance missions.
This will be the first flight of the spacecraft in nearly two years. The New Shepard rocket, which flies cargo and humans on short trips to the edge of space, has been grounded since a September 2022 uncrewed mission failed roughly a minute after liftoff from Texas, forcing the rocket’s capsule full of Nasa experiments to safely eject mid-flight.
“It is an incredible honour to become India’s first civilian astronaut as I cross the Kármán line with Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission. “I hope to inspire future generations to dream big, pursue STEAM education, and reach for the stars. Together, we can achieve the unimaginable.
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