Who is Sirisha Bandla: Know all about Indian-origin woman to fly to space
The Telugu woman from Andhra's Guntur district who was brought up in Houston will become the second India-born woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla.
Sirisha Bandla has made headlines as the second Indian-origin woman to head to space as part of Virgin Space Ship Unity on July 11. Andhra Pradesh-born Bandla will be one of the six space travellers aboard 'VSS Unity' of Virgin Galactic, scheduled to take off from New Mexico alongside the company's founder Richard Branson.
The Telugu woman from Andhra's Guntur district who was brought up in Houston will become the second India-born woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla. Rakesh Sharma and Sunita Williams were the other Indians who went into space prior to Bandla.
Taking to Twitter, the 34-year-old aeronautical engineer shared she was "incredibly honoured" to be part of the crew. "I am so incredibly honoured to be a part of the amazing crew of Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all," she posted.
Sirisha is brave and strong when making decisions, Dr Ragaiah, Bandla's paternal grandfather told news agency ANI. "I am overwhelmed with joy and happiness that my second granddaughter is going to space. She has been very brave right from the beginning and is a very strong decision-maker. She completed her schooling in the US. She has always had a fascination for the sky," said the 85-year-old.
Sirisha completed her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 2011 from Purdue University and went on to do her MBA from George Washington University in 2015.
She joined Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic after completing her studies and is currently the Vice President of Government Affairs at the British-American spaceflight company.
