India's First Space Tourist: Gopi Thota to Travel on Blue Origin's NS-25 Mission

Washington: Now, not just countries but you can also travel to space. America has initiated space tourism for the first time in the world. Entrepreneur and pilot Gopi Thota will be the first Indian to travel to space. He will be going on a space journey as a tourist on the Blue Origin's NS-25 mission, founded by Jeff Bezos.

He will be among the six space travelers on this mission. With this, he will be the first Indian space tourist after Rakesh Sharma, who went to space in 1984 as a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force.

The aerospace company stated that the date for the space journey has not been announced yet. This will be the seventh flight to take humans to space under the 'New Shepard' program, and it will be the 25th flight in its history.

So far, 31 individuals have been taken beyond the Karman Line, which is the proposed boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space, under this program. 'New Shepard' is a suborbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin for space tourism that is fully reusable.

Entrepreneur and pilot Gopi Thota According to Blue Origin, "Gopi is a pilot and aviator who learned to fly before driving a vehicle." He is a co-founder of 'Preserve Life Corp,' a global center for comprehensive wellness and practical health near the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

He has also flown aerobatic aircraft and seaplanes commercially, in addition to flying commercial airplanes. He has also worked as an international medical flight pilot.

The adventure enthusiast Thota recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Tanzania. Born in Andhra Pradesh, Thota holds a bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

He is joined by Mason Angel, Slovenian Cirone, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight among other travelers going to space.