Sirisha Bandla will be the second Indian-born woman to go to Space after Kalpana Chawla. Bandla is a part of the six-person crew on the Virgin Galactic test space flight. In addition to Sunita Williams and Rakesh Sharma, she is one of the few Indian-origin people to go to space.
Who is Sirisha Bandla?
Bandla was born in Guntur, Andra Pradesh but, grew up in Houston, Texas. She graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University. Additionally, she also holds a master’s in Business Administration from Georgetown University. She worked as an aerospace engineer in Texas for a short period. Moreover, she also has experience working with space policy at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF). Bandla joined Virgin Galactic in 2015. Currently, she is the vice president of the company’s government affairs.
The test flight is Virgin’s first fully crewed rocket-powered flight is set for July 11. “I am so incredibly honored 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,” tweeted Sirisha Bandla.
A thumbs up from the grandfather
“Sirisha is brave and strong in decision making and, fascinated by the sky from the beginning. I’m very happy. Also, she’s going to space with five other members,” said Dr. Ragaiah, Bandla’s grandfather. Additionally, “I, along with my friends and relatives, wish her a successful and happy return to the land after completion of her journey,” he added.
It’s not just her family who is proud of her. Undoubtedly, several politicians and movie actors, and citizens have expressed happiness. N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of the state also took to Twitter to express his happiness. “Indian-origin women continue to break the proverbial glass ceiling and prove their mettle. On July 11th, Sirisha Bandla with Telugu roots is set to fly to space aboard VSS Unity with Richard Branson and the team marking the dawn of the new space age, making all Indians proud!” he tweeted. In addition, several people tookto social media to congratulate Bandla.
