Gopi Thotakura, an entrepreneur and pilot, became the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission on Sunday, marking a historic milestone.
Thotakura was one of six crew members selected for the NS-25 mission, making him the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
Blue Origin’s seventh human flight, the NS-25 was launched from Launch Site One in West Texas on Sunday morning. The 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 boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
The New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin for space tourism.
“Gopi is a pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive,” Blue Origin stated.
Thotakura co-founded Preserve Life Corp., a global centre for holistic wellness and applied health near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
In addition to flying jets commercially, Thotakura pilots bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons. He has also served as an international medical jet pilot. A lifelong traveller, his most recent adventure was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Born in Andhra Pradesh, Thotakura is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Other crew members included Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight. Dwight was selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation's first black astronaut candidate but never had the opportunity to fly to space.
During the flight, each astronaut carried a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which aims to inspire future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).
Environmentally, nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes. The rocket’s engine is fueled by liquid oxygen and hydrogen, producing only water vapour as a byproduct with no carbon emissions.
Blue Origin also released the NS-25 mission patch, featuring symbols like the Gemini spacecraft, representing Dwight’s aerospace training, and a hand lifting the crew capsule, nodding to his extensive artwork. The sunrise symbolises Angel and Schaller’s desire to experience the overview effect, while mountains represent the passion for climbing and skiing shared by Schaller, Thotakura, and Chiron.
Blue Origin paused its suborbital tourism programme following a liftoff malfunction of the New Shepard rocket in September 2022, when an uncrewed flight ended in flames about a minute after liftoff.
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