Flaunting the tri-color in space
Vijayawada in south India’s Andhra Pradesh is a proud destination now. Gopi Thotakura hailing from this place created unprecedented history.
Gopi flew into space aboard the Blue Origin NS-25 mission founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, soaring to the Kármán line, an altitude of around 100 kilometers.
Not only the Blue Origin NS-25 had an Indian as the first space tourist, it was boasted of America’s first black astronaut candidate as the Captain Ed Dwight.
As shared with Hindustan Times, Gopi referred the space shuttle as the majestic blue ball.
An overjoyed Gopi essayed that the experience is an exhilarating journey of weightlessness and awe-inspiring views. And he didn't realize it until they got the first glimpse of the curvature of the majestic blue ball, which is when they became aware of what was missed on Earth. The mankind on Earth is fortunate to be living, standing, playing, sleeping here on this planet.
Besides Gopi Thotakura, the astronaut crew included Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess and Carol Schaller.
Each astronaut carried a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future. The club's mission is to inspire and mobilize future generations to pursue careers in STEAM for the benefit of Earth.
That little boy’s dream saw daylight
The Andhra-born Indian Expatriate used to browse through the pages of science books, hoping to explore the universe of planets, stars, the solar system, and space.
Thotakura, an engineer with a background in nautical science, had always harbored a deep passion for aviation. His enthusiasm for space, which he called an entity “near and dear” to him since childhood, is palpable.
And while navigating through life, neither did he forget about his dream nor did he give up on them. And the outcome? Gopi Thotakura found himself on NS -25 Mission of Blue Origin as the first Indian space tourist.
Thotakura’s ambitions extend beyond this monumental space voyage. During his journey, he carried a banner that read, ‘I’m an eco-warrior for a sustainable planet.’ When asked about this, he explained it was linked to his organization’s mission to unite 100 corporations from 20 nations in a wellness and preventive medical program on a 1200-acre campus, all driven by a vision for sustainability. The banner symbolized his dedication to raising awareness about this critical cause.
Space Tourism by ISRO
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath had ensured the wealthy will be able to wear space suits, board rocket-powered modules, and travel to space by 2030.
The average ticket cost will probably be close to Rs 6 crore. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha in February this year, Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Atomic Energy, and Space stated that ISRO has already begun conducting feasibility studies for India's sub-orbital space tourism mission.
Editor’s Note
The concept of space tourism is one of the most exhilarating emerging features of the wider tourism industry, and companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX are already making waves by outlining plans to deliver various forms of commercial spaceflight in the near future. However, the roots lie with the Russian Space Agency which was the pioneer to have successfully facilitated orbital space tourism. Gopi Thotakura added a historical chapter to the space landscape from Indian perspective.
Keywords
#gopithotakura #spacetourism #firstindian #spacetourist
