PIO Gopi Thotakura To Become First Indian To Travel To Space As A Tourist

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has revealed a six-person crew flying on the 7^th human flight of its reusable suborbital rocket/spacecraft New Shepard

Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos’ private spaceflight company Blue Origin is preparing to send its crewed reusable suborbital rocket/spacecraft New Shepard on its 25^th flight on a date to be decided soon, and one of the six space tourists being taken on it to an altitude of up to 100 km (62 miles) above sea level is an Indian origin entrepreneur, pilot and aviator.

Gopi Thotakura, co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness and applied health, located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia state, United States, is set to become the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist.

The 30 years old, born in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh, is a graduate of the prestigious Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In addition to flying jets commercially, he has also piloted aerobatic and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons. He has served as an international medical jet pilot too. A lifelong traveler, his most recent adventure took him to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in East African country of Tanzania.

Blue Origin recently revealed the six-person crew flying on its NS-25 mission. Besides Gopi Thotakura, the crew includes Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and a former US Air Force Captain Ed Dwight.

Dwight was selected by US President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate but was never granted the opportunity to fly to space.

This mission will be the seventh human flight for the New Shepard program and the 25th in its history. To date, the program has flown 31 humans above the Kármán line, the point above sea level that marks the start of space. Jeff Bezos himself, his brother Mark Bezos and two other private persons were part of the history creating first human flight of the New Shepard reusable rocket/spacecraft on July 20, 2021.

Since then, at 90 years of age, actor William Shatner, who played the stellar role as Captain James Kirk on the epic first Star Trek television series, has been the oldest person to fly to space on the New Shepard rocket/spacecraft.

One of the stated goals of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is to create a future where people live and work in space to benefit Earth. It seeks to preserve Earth by identifying additional material and energy resources, as well as relocating to space the industries that are likely to harm Earth. The company is developing reusable rocket engines and launch vehicles designed to significantly lower the cost and increase the accessibility of space travel.

Blue Origin’s Club For The Future

https://www.clubforfuture.org/