iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
Aviator and entrepreneur Gopi Thotakura, selected to be part of the crew for Blue Origin’s New Shephard-25 (NS-25) mission, will become the first Indian-origin first space tourist, a company announcement said.
He is among the six persons chosen to make a journey to beyond the Earth’s atmosphere beyond the Kármán Line, the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. The line is 62 miles above sea level and is named after Hungarian-American engineer and physicist Theodore von Kármán.
Thotakura was born in Vijayawada in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
According to Blue Origin, an aerospace company owned by Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, Thotakura is “a pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive. He’s co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness and applied health located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In addition to flying jets commercially, Gopi pilots bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons, and has served as an international medical jet pilot. A lifelong traveler, his most recent adventure took him to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Gopi is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.”
The flight date is not yet announced.
Blue Origin said that each astronaut will carry a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation called Club for the Future. “This program gives students access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets, including an all-digital method to create and send postcards, which can be found here. The Club’s mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in STEAM for the benefit of Earth.”
It added, “From an environmental standpoint, nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes. New Shepard’s engine is fueled by highly efficient liquid oxygen and hydrogen. During flight, the only byproduct is water vapor with no carbon emissions.”
Others in the crew include Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate but was never granted the opportunity to fly to space.
