Say hello to Gopichand Thotakura, the first Indian civilian in space.

Say hello to Gopichand Thotakura, the first Indian civilian in space.

Gopichand Thotakura

Synopsis

Vijayawada-born Gopichand Thotakura will be part of a six-member crew aboard Blue Origin’s next launch to space. Edited excerpts from Nirmal John’s exclusive interview with Thotakura.

Today’s International Day for human space flight. The United Nations designated 12th April to mark the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin, way back in 1961. India will soon have a second Indian citizen in space, 40 years after Rakesh Sharma. Gopichand Thotakura has been announced as one of 6 crew members of the NS-25 mission by Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin. That means that he is also India’s
( Originally published on Apr 12, 2024 )

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