BENGALURU : Gopichand Thotakura, the second Indian who will travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, wants to inspire every Indian child to dream bigger.
Gopi will script history after 40 years as one of the first space tourists from the country and will be accompanied by a six-member crew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 (NS-25) Mission, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
In an interview with this newspaper, Gopi, a commercial pilot and co-founder of Preserve Life Corp — a holistic wellness centre in Atlanta, US — said that he cannot express how exhilarated he is to do this as an Indian and the weight this task holds as he “takes the spirit of India” and the “people of India” along with him.
The 30-year-old said that he wants to leave a legacy for the next generation of Indians who are not from military backgrounds, stating, “Even a civilian in India can dream to go to space.”
With the tricolour placed next to his workstation, Gopi has always had an adventurous spirit. In addition to flying jets commercially, he pilots bush, aerobatic, seaplanes, gliders, and hot air balloons. He has also served as an international medical jet pilot. With specialisation in aeronautical engineering, Gopi has built world’s only dual engine, a three-seater tandem, open cockpit, experimental aircraft that he flies everyday.
A graduate of Embry-Riddle, his recent escapade was climbing the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The seventh human flight of the New Shepard will go beyond the Karman line — the boundary that separates Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Pilot to script history
Gopichand Thotakura is second Indian who will travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. The commercial pilot will script history after 40 years as one of the first space tourists from the country and will be accompanied by 6-member crew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 Mission, founded by Jeff Bezos. Gopi pursued his primary and secondary education at Sarala Birla Academy in Bengaluru.