Gopichand Thotakura, Biography, Blue Origin NS-25 Mission

Gopichand Thotakura is an entrepreneur and pilot of Indian Origin who created history by becoming the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma. He flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-25 mission on 19 May 2024, marking India’s return to human spaceflight after four decades. His flight reflects the growing role of private companies in space exploration and highlights the rapid expansion of Commercial Space Tourism globally.

Gopichand Thotakura Biography

Gopichand Thotakura was born in 1993 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. At the age of 30, he became the first Indian to undertake a commercial suborbital spaceflight. He is the co-founder of “Preserve Life,” a multi-million-dollar wellness centre under development near Atlanta, United States. With a professional background in aviation and business, Thotakura represents a new generation of private citizens participating in space missions. His selection for Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission placed him among a rare global group of individuals who have crossed Earth’s atmospheric boundary.

Gopichand Thotakura Mission Highlights

Gopichand Thotakura’s spaceflight was a landmark event for India’s presence in commercial human space travel. The key highlights of his mission has been listed below:

• Second Indian in Space: Thotakura became the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 Soyuz T-11 mission, ending a 40 year gap in Indian human spaceflight representation.
• First Indian Space Tourist: He was the first Indian citizen to fly on a commercial suborbital space mission, marking India’s entry into space tourism rather than government led astronaut programs.
• Mission: He was part of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin NS-25 Mission developed for human spaceflight.
• Duration of Spaceflight: The complete mission lasted 9 minutes and 53 seconds from launch to landing, covering ascent, microgravity experience and descent phases.

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Blue Origin NS-25 Mission

The Blue Origin NS-25 mission was a major milestone in commercial suborbital spaceflight. The major features of the Mission are listed below:

• Mission Operator: NS-25 was operated by Blue Origin, an American aerospace company founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
• Mission Type: It was a suborbital human spaceflight mission, designed to briefly carry passengers beyond Earth’s atmosphere without entering orbit.
• Mission History: NS-25 was the 25th mission of the New Shepard program and the seventh human crewed flight conducted by Blue Origin.
• Launch Details: The mission launched on 19 May 2024 at 9:35:09 am CDT from Corn Ranch, Launch Site One, in West Texas.
• Rocket and Capsule: The mission used the New Shepard NS4 rocket and the crew capsule named “RSS First Step,” both designed for full reusability.
• Altitude Achieved: The capsule reached a maximum apogee of approximately 107 kilometres, well above the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. It crossed the Kármán Line at 100 kilometres, the internationally accepted boundary of space.
• Microgravity Experience: Passengers experienced weightlessness starting around three minutes after launch, allowing several minutes of zero gravity movement inside the capsule.
• Crew Size and Members: The six member crew included Gopichand Thotakura (India), Mason Angel (USA), Sylvain Chiron (France), Kenneth Hess (USA), Carol Schaller (USA) and Ed Dwight (USA). Ed Dwight (90 years and 253 days) became the oldest person to reach space.