E-Paper
Gopi Thotakura proudly displays Indian flag in space on board Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. Watch
Gopi Thotakura the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space. The Andhra-born aviator undertook Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin mission.
Gopi Thotakura, the first Indian tourist on board Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission, held up the Indian flag in space as he made the historic feat. Blue Origin on Sunday launched a six-person crew from West Texas to the edge of space as it restarted its much talked-about space tourism business for the first time since its suborbital rocket was grounded in 2022.
In a video shared on social media by Blue Origin, Thotakura, 30, first held up a banner which read "I am an eco-warrior for our sustainable planet".
"India into space," he then said inside the spaceflight as he displayed a small Indian flag.
Watch the heartwarming moment in this video here:
The six space tourists can be seen expressing their excitement as they float inside the space ship and look out of the window to Earth below.
The capsule carrying the astronauts returned to Earth roughly 10 minutes after take-off.
The oldest space tourist on the Blue Origin flight was 90-year-old Ed Dwight, the first US Black astronaut candidate from the 1960s.
Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos himself had flown to the edge of space in his space company's space tourist mission in 2021.
Who is Gopi Thotakura?
- Thotakura is the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
- Born in Andhra Pradesh, Gopichand Thotakura is a pilot and aviator who acquired his flying skills before obtaining a driver's license, according to Blue Origin.
- He is settled in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.
- He earned a degree in Aviation Management and Operations from Coventry University, UAE. He completed his Bachelor's in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
- Thotakura co-founded Preserve Life Corp, a global centre for holistic wellness and applied health located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
