Gopichand Thotakura shows a tiny Indian flag.
New Delhi:
Indian-origin entrepreneur and pilot Gopichand Thotakura made history by becoming the first Indian tourist to venture into space as part of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission.
In a video posted on the official Instagram account of Blue Origin, Mr Thotakura can be seen showing a tiny Indian flag while in space.
In the video, all seven crew members can be seen enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime experience as they float in the spacecraft due to gravity loss. Mr Thotakura appears in front of the camera and shows a placard that reads, “I am an Eco hero of my sustainable planet.” He then shows off a tricolour, which floats in the spacecraft.
The Blue Origin completed its seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program on May 19th.
“It was amazing… you have to see it with your eyes”, said Gopi Thotakura after his space trip.
“I can’t describe how it is to look into space… everybody should go to the space. It was good to see Earth from the other side,” he added.
Many social media users commented on that post.
“LOVE FROM INDIA”, a user posted. “Best of luck from India .. love u all”, another user commented.
“How exciting”, a third user wrote.
Besides Gopi Thotakura, the astronaut crew included Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 as the nation’s first black astronaut candidate but never had the opportunity to fly, the official website of Blue Origin stated.