Aeronaut Gopichand Thothakura became the first Indian tourist to travel to space. Gopichand and five other fellow passengers are going into space as part of the ‘New Shepherd-25 (NS-25)’ mission by US private space agency Blue Origin.
It is known that the six people will cross the ‘Karman Line’, the boundary between the earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
But the date is not yet known. It is believed that this mission will be completed within the next year.
Apart from being an aviator, Gopichand is also an entrepreneur. 30 years old Gopichand was born at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. He had a special curiosity about the space since childhood. After completing his studies, he took basic lessons in flying. After that, Gopichand obtained a bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, USA.
Gopichand recently went to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. He can fly bush, aerobatic and seaplanes, gliders and air balloons. He currently owns a healthcare company near the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. According to Blue Origin, Gopichand learned to fly before learning to drive a car.
Each member of the NS-25 mission will carry a postcard on behalf of the Blue Origin Foundation, Club for the Future, which symbolizes the collective dreams and aspirations of youth worldwide. “About 99 percent of the spacecraft used in the New Shepherd-25 mission, including boosters, capsules, engines, landing gear and parachutes, are reused,” Blue Origins said in their statement. New Shepard’s engine uses liquid oxygen and hydrogen as fuel. The only byproduct during flight is water vapor. It emits no carbon.”
The mission also includes former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight. Who was selected by US President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first black astronaut candidate. But he was never given a chance to travel to space.
Blue Origin has operated six crewed flights. Some passengers were paying customers and others were guests. That mission took place in July 2021. In which the CEO of Blue Origin and the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos himself participated.
