Gopi Thotakura becomes 1st Indian space tourist on Blue Origin

May 19, 2024 22:33

Gopi Thotakura/Screen grab

Gopi Thotakura, an entrepreneur and a pilot, on Sunday became the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin's NS-25 mission.

Thotakura was selected as one of the six crew members for the NS-25 mission, making him the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after the Indian Army's Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984.

Blue Origin's seventh human flight, NS-25, lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas on Sunday morning, the company announced on social media.

This mission was the seventh human flight for the New Shepard programme and the 25th in its history.

To date, the programme has flown 31 humans above the Karman line, the proposed conventional boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.

New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin.

According to Blue Origin, "Gopi is a pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive." -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Bengal train crash: Signal was defective since 5.50 am

The Railway Board in its initial statement said that the driver of the goods train violated the signal.

Haven't thought about quitting Pakistan captaincy: Babar Azam

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam hasn't yet thought about quitting captaincy despite his team's group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup.

15 dead, 60 injured as goods train rams into Kanchanjunga Express in Bengal

Three rear compartments of the Kanchanjunga Express derailed under the impact of the collision by the locomotive of the goods train from behind, the police officer said.

Neeraj Chopra set to resume Olympic build-up in Finland

Neeraj Chopra will return to competitive action at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on Tuesday against a stellar field.

Sebi signals change with tougher futures and options stock rules

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed stricter eligibility criteria for adding and retaining stocks in the futures and options (F&O) segment, which accounts for the bulk of the trading volumes. The...