Capt. Gopichand Thotakura Entrepreneur, Educator & Adventurer

After successfully completing the space flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard-25 (NS-25) mission, India's first civilian astronaut, Capt. Gopichand Thotakura next aims to make an orbital mission, docking at the International Space Station and spend a few days there.

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Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World in this exclusive feature highlights the inspirational personality who has not only made India proud through his space tourism initiative but also paved ways for all those young and budding aspirations who dream of making it big in their aviation career.

On Sunday, May 19th 2024, history was made when Capt. Gopichand Thotakura became first Indian civilian pilot to successfully step into the space as a tourist. This mission was part of the NS-25 mission, the initiative of Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin which took the few selected crew for a suborbital flight that crossed the Kármán line, offering moments of weightlessness and stunning views of Earth. This mission also presented the Blue Origin's vision towards sustainability as around 99 per cent of New Shepard's components were being reusable. Capt. Gopi Chand Thotakura' next mission is to go to the International Space Station (ISS) which is being used by all the countries as a hub for scientific research and human exploration in space. He is getting himself prepared for the same and it is expected that by mid of 2026, he might venture into this exploration. Capt. Gopi was the elite crew for Blue Origin's New Shepard-25 (NS-25) mission, which took off from the company's West Texas launch site in the United States which journeyed to the edge of space beyond the Earth. He excels in joy with full of enthusiasm, “The sights and sensations of the mission are lasting memories. The weightlessness was amazing. I could not get out of my seat belt. So people should listen to training – and Blue Origin is meticulous about all preparation. Despite the challenges of adapting to zero gravity, we float around, did backflips throwing some flags.”

In his first interaction with