By -Aditi Gupta
Included in the group of six was Ed Dwight, a 90-year-old man who was chosen to be the country’s first black astronaut. After 60 years, he took off for space. Let us notify you that Ed Dwight, a captain in the US Air Force, was selected in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to be an astronaut, but he was forbidden to board the American flight in 1963 for an unidentified reason.
On Sunday, six people—among them pilot Gopichand Thotakura of Indian descent—took a space flight. At 9:36 a.m. local time on Sunday, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule (NS-25), owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of the online retailer Amazon, blasted out from West Texas, USA, carrying all six astronauts. As a result, Indian-origin pilot Gopichand Thotakura, who was a part of Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission, became the first Indian tourist to travel to space. A video was uploaded by Blue Origin on its official Instagram page. Thotakura was seen in this video waving a tiny Indian flag in space.
This team of six people also included 90-year-old Ed Dwight, who was selected as America’s first black astronaut. He flew into space after 60 years. Let us tell you that Ed Dwight, who was a captain in the US Air Force, was selected as an astronaut by the then President John F Kennedy in 1961, but due to some reason he could not go on the American flight in 1963.
The astronauts included software developer and entrepreneur Kenneth L. Hayes, retired accountant Carol Schaller, French liquor company Mont-Blanc founder Sylvain Chiron, and entrepreneur Mason Engel in addition to Gopi Thotakura and Ed Dwight.
Andhra Pradesh native Gopichand Thotakura made history by being the first person to travel to space. With the launch of Indian Army Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma into space in 1984, he is now the second Indian in space. He was also the first Indian space tourist as result of this. Gopi is an aviator and pilot. Gopi has experience flying medical aircraft on a global basis. Thotakura is an Andhra Pradesh native and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University alumnus.