Andhra-born Gopi Thotakura Makes History as First Indian Space Tourist
Andhra-born Gopi Thotakura Makes History as First Indian Space Tourist
India-born Gopi Thotakura made history on Sunday evening by becoming the first Indian citizen to venture into space as a tourist. Thotakura was part of the elite crew for Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 (NS-25) mission, which launched from the company’s West Texas site in the US at 8:05 pm IST, an hour late from its scheduled time of 9:35 am local time.
Gopi Thotakura is a lifelong pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive. He flies jets commercially, in addition to piloting bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes. He’s also the co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness and applied… pic.twitter.com/of2nzsPvEd
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) May 19, 2024
Born in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, Gopi Thotakura, an entrepreneur and pilot, journeyed to the edge of space alongside five others: Ed Dwight, Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L Hess, and Carol Schaller. Notably, Ed Dwight, at 90 years old, became the oldest person to travel to space.
Despite working in the US, Gopi has retained his Indian passport, officially making him the second Indian astronaut after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. Sharma flew to space as a professional cosmonaut aboard Soyuz T-11 on April 3, 1984, as part of the Soviet Interkosmos program. Other astronauts of Indian origin, like Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, Raja Chari, and Sirisha Bandla, have been US citizens during their space missions.
Following takeoff, the NS-25 vehicle smoothly reached the boundary of space. The rocket and capsule then returned to Earth, with the rocket landing upright a few minutes after takeoff. The capsule successfully touched down using two of its three parachutes, roughly 15 minutes after takeoff. This marked Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin’s first crew launch in nearly two years. “Capsule touchdown. Welcome back, NS25 crew!” the company said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Blue Origin introduced Gopi Thotakura as a lifelong pilot and aviator who learned to fly before he could drive. He co-founded Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Gopi studied aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the US and has worked in medical air evacuation services in India. A seasoned traveler, his recent adventures include summiting Mount Kilimanjaro.
In another historic first, Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally reached space 60 years after being selected in 1961. At 90 years, 8 months, and 10 days old, Dwight became the oldest person to travel to space, surpassing Star Trek actor William Shatner, who was almost two months younger when he launched with Blue Origin in 2021.
This flight marked Blue Origin’s first tourist mission on New Shepard since August 2022. The company had paused flights after a New Shepard vehicle suffered an engine failure mid-flight during an uncrewed mission in September 2022. After spending most of 2023 investigating the failure and making design corrections, Blue Origin successfully returned to flight with another uncrewed mission in December.
This mission was the seventh human flight for the New Shepard program and the 25th in its history. Blue Origin has previously launched six tourist missions, flying celebrities like William Shatner, Michael Strahan, and Jeff Bezos himself to space. In total, New Shepard has flown 31 humans above the internationally recognized boundary of space.
Looking ahead, Blue Origin is seen as a key strategic rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The company plans to debut a much larger and more powerful New Glenn rocket later this year, capable of launching cargo to orbit. Blue Origin also aims to send humans to the moon later this decade for NASA.
