An American company promises to offer a free ride to space for willing civilian candidates.
India is among the partner countries chosen by Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA), which has collaborated with Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin to offer an 11-minute ride past the Karman Line (100 km above the earth’s surface). The Karman line is widely regarded as the entry point to space.
‘We want to make space exploration open to all. We have raised funds to sponsor this mission, through which we will fly a six-membered crew, including an Indian’, Joshua Skurla, Co-Founder, SERA, said.
According to SERA, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket would be used to ferry the candidates past the Karman line and then bring them back to earth for a controlled landing.
‘We’re excited to have India as part of our human spaceflight program. We want to make space accessible for everyone and are happy to offer this unique opportunity to an Indian citizen (above the age of 18) who wants to experience the wonders of space travel’, said Joshua Skurla, CO-Founder, SERA.
According to the firm, the lone Indian candidate would be selected based on public voting, and each willing Indian citizen could register for the program by paying a fee of $2.50 (approx. Rs.200), which would cover the costs of verification that would ensure fair voting.
Each potential candidate can garner votes by telling their story to the public using their mission profile pages, social media, and other resources. Voting will progress through candidate elimination across three phases. The public will vote only for candidates from their nation or region, the firm said.
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