Blue Origin has chosen a Bharatiya pilot for its next voyage aboard New Shepard. Gopichand Thotakura, an entrepreneur and pilot from Andhra Pradesh has been selected among a few of those people who will join the elite crew of Blue Origin’s New Shepard- 25 (NS- 25) mission.
Along with five other crew members, Thotakura will make a journey beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Thotakura has flown beyond the Karman line in the past ie the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space) a feat that has been achieved by only 31 distinguished fellows.
Gopichand Thotakura, 30, hails from the Bharatiya state of Andhra Pradesh and was born in Vijayawada. Currently, he runs Preserve Life Corp, a global centre for holistic wellness and applied health. The company is located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
#NewShepard #NS25 crew will include Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Ed Dwight, Ken Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura. Read more 🚀: https://t.co/KbAJkbRTvj pic.twitter.com/8QBFYPJkYj
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 4, 2024
He always had a passion for flying and enthusiasm to master the art of manoeuvring. Thotakura graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science.
Describing him, Blue Origins wrote, that Gopi is a pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive. Gopi pilots bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons, and has served as an international medical jet pilot. A lifelong traveller, his most recent adventure took him to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Each member of the NS-25 mission will carry a postcard on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, symbolising the collective dreams and aspirations of young minds worldwide.
Thotakura will also be joined by the former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by US President John F Kennedy in 1961 as the country’s first Black astronaut candidate but was never granted the opportunity to fly to space.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard is named after Alan Shepard, who was a Mercury astronaut from the US. New Shepard is a reusable rocket system crafted to transport astronauts and research payloads beyond the Karman line.
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