Sirisha Bandla’s flight to the edge of space with billionaire Sir Richard Branson is being celebrated all over India since she is the second Indian woman after Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia Space Shuttle accident in 2003, that has been able to travel to outer space.
The rocket flew high above Mexico in the US before returning to Earth after an hour flight on Sunday’s trip. Sir Richard described the event as the ‘experience of a lifetime’. This test flight was made as a first to pioneer space tourism with their own vehicles beating Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and SpaceX’s Elon Musk.
The presence of Sirisha Bandla on board of this historic moment has stirred excitement in India, especially in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh where she was born. Soon after the rocket’s return, she was greeted with congratulatory messages on her social media by Indians. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tweeted, “Her achievement will motivate many more young girls in India and abroad to take up challenging careers.”
Sir Richard was also accompanied by pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci and three Galactic employees, including Beth Moses, Colin Bennett.
