Houston: Indian-American astronaut Sirisha Bandla has said it was an ‘incredible’ and a ‘life-changing’ experience to see the Earth from space. Sirisha Bandla was on her maiden trip on Virgin Galactic’s first fully-crewed suborbital test flight. She hopes the price tag for space travel will come down in future.
Bandla is a 34-year-old aeronautical engineer. She joined Sunday British billionaire Richard Branson and four others on board Virgin Galactic’s ‘SpaceShipTwo Unity’ to make a journey to the edge of space from the US state of New Mexico.
They reached an altitude of about 88 kilometres over the New Mexico desert – enough to see the curvature of the Earth. The crew experienced a few minutes of weightlessness before making a gliding descent back to Earth.
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“I am kind of still up there but it’s so glad to be here. I was trying to think about a better word than incredible but that is the only word that can come to my mind. Seeing the view of Earth is so life-changing but also the boost the rocket motor kicking in. The whole trip to space and back is just amazing,” Bandla told the ‘NBC News’ in an interview.
Bandla described the moment as emotional. “I have been dreaming of going to space since I was young and literally it is a dream come true,” she said emotionally.
“I have wanted to be an astronaut but I wasn’t able to go in the traditional National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) role. So I took a very unconventional way to go to space and I do believe that a lot of people are going to be able to experience this and that’s why we are here,” asserted Indian-origin woman.
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Bandla’s poor eyesight could not meet the requirements to become a pilot or an astronaut for NASA.
She was asked if this was just a joyride for rich people. “As Virgin Galactic builds up…This is VSS Unity’s ride to space today but we have got two more spaceships in the manufacture and we hope the cost would come down,” she informed.
Bandla was born in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh. She was brought up in Houston, was astronaut No 004 and her flight role was ‘Researcher Experience’. The other crew members were two pilots and three other crewmates, including billionaire Branson, who turns 71 in a week.
Bandla became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian citizen to travel in space. The former Indian Air Force pilot flew aboard Soyuz T-11 April 3, 1984, part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme.
Virgin Galactic – the business Branson started in 2004 – aims to fly private citizens to the edge of space. The trips are designed to permit passengers to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and observe the curvature of Earth.
The Virgin Galactic carrier can launch up to eight people (two pilots and six passengers) on the Unity 22 flight, but Sunday there were only six occupants (two pilots and four passengers).