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Sirisha Bandla 2nd Indian Women to Fly to Space: Know All About Her Journey From India to Space
Andhra Pradesh-born Sirisha Bandla will be one of the six space travellers aboard 'VSS Unity' of Virgin Galactic, scheduled to take off from New Mexico alongside the company's founder Richard Branson.
Meet Sirisha Bandla 2nd Indian Women to Fly to Space: Know All About Her: As Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson announced his first trip to space just ahead of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, the billionaire will be accompanied by an Indian onboard. Sirisha Bandla, vice president of government affairs and research operations for the company, will be among the five passengers hopping on the trip with Branson.
34-year-old Indian-American astronaut Sirisha Bandla will be the second Indian-born woman after Kalpana Chawla to fly into space. Indian-American astronaut Sirisha Bandla will fly from New Mexico to space on July 11 with the six crew members of VSS Unity, a Virgin Galactic ballistic rocket propellant. As astronaut number 4, Bandla’s role will be that of a researcher experience.
Taking to Twitter, the 34-year-old aeronautical engineer shared she was “incredibly honoured” to be part of the crew. “I am so incredibly honoured to be a part of the amazing crew of Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all,” she posted.
Andhra Pradesh-born Bandla will be one of the six space travellers aboard ‘VSS Unity’ of Virgin Galactic, scheduled to take off from New Mexico alongside the company’s founder Richard Branson.
Born in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India, Bandra emigrated to the United States at the age of five. Her father, Dr. Bandra Muraridar, is a scientist and a member of senior management in the US government.
She grew up in Houston, Texas. She studied aerospace engineering at Purdue University and earned an MBA from George Washington University. She joined Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic after completing her studies and is currently the Vice President of Government Affairs at the British-American spaceflight company.
Sirisha is brave and strong when making decisions, Dr Ragaiah, Bandla’s paternal grandfather told news agency ANI. “I am overwhelmed with joy and happiness that my second granddaughter is going to space. She has been very brave right from the beginning and is a very strong decision-maker. She completed her schooling in the US. She has always had a fascination for the sky,” said the 85-year-old.