Home Latest News Meet Gopi Thotakura: India’s first pilot to journey into space as a tourist | India News – Times of India

Meet Gopi Thotakura: India’s first pilot to journey into space as a tourist | India News – Times of India

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Meet Gopi Thotakura: India’s first pilot to journey into space as a tourist | India News – Times of India

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NEW DELHI: Gopichand Thotakura is set to make history as the first Indian to embark on a journey into space as a tourist. Thotakura will join a six-person crew aboard Blue Origin‘s New Shepard mission, embarking on a journey that will take them beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
Gopi, a skilled pilot and co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a holistic wellness center in Atlanta, has an impressive aviation background.Blue origin described him as a person “who learned how to fly before he could drive.”
His experience spans commercial jet piloting, bush flying, aerobatics, seaplane, glider, and hot air balloon piloting. Additionally, Gopi has flown medical jets internationally and recently climbed the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
With a degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an MBA in Aviation/ Airway Management and Operations from Coventry University, Gopi currently serves as the chief operating officer at Asian Infrastructure Ltd.
The mission
The New Shepherd 25 mission, the seventh human flight for the program, will utilize Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket system designed for space tourism. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, is a reusable suborbital rocket system, developed for space tourism.
According to the Blue Origin website, the New Shepherd mission is environment friendly. 99% if the dry mass produced is reused, and the only byproduct during the flight is water vapour.
The New Shepard spacecraft consists of a crew capsule and a booster rocket. Up to six passengers, six pieces of cargo, or both can fit inside the capsule. One BE-3PM engine powers the booster rocket, which lifts the capsule above the Kármán line and allows both cargo and passengers to enjoy a brief period of weightlessness before returning to Earth.
Each astronaut will also carry a postcard into space on behalf of Club for the Future, the charity that Blue Origin founded.
The launch date for the mission has not been announced yet.
The Crew
Ed Dwight
In 1961, Ed was picked by President Kennedy to train at the Aerospace Research Pilot School, aiming for NASA’s astronaut team. Despite completing the program in 1963, he wasn’t chosen.
Mason Angel
Mason runs Industrious Ventures, a fund backing startups driving industrial innovation. He’s also active in his family’s foundation, supporting STEM education.
Sylvain Chiron
Sylvain founded Brasserie Mont Blanc, a major craft brewery in France. Born in the Alps, he’s a lifelong pilot and skier, earning his pilot’s license at 16.
Kenneth L. Hess
Kenneth is a software engineer and entrepreneur who created Family Tree Maker in the 1990s, which was later acquired by Ancestry.com in 2003.
Carol Schaller
Carol, a retired CPA, was informed by her doctor in 2017 that she may go blind, since then, she’s traveled extensively, from Mount Everest Base Camp to the South Pole, embracing adventure despite her condition.
Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000.



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