“Happy and overwhelmed”: family of Indian-American astronaut on Virgin Galactic crew

Record ID: 1625026

  • Title: “Happy and overwhelmed”: family of Indian-American astronaut on Virgin Galactic crew
  • Date: 5th July 2021
  • Summary: GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA (JULY 05, 2021) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF RESIDENCE OF GRANDFATHER OF INDIAN-ORIGIN WOMAN, SIRISHA BANDLA WHO IS FLYING TO SPACE WITH VIRGIN GALACTIC'S RICHARD BRANSON BUILDING WALL READING (English): "S.R. HOMES" GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA (JULY 04, 2021) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) SOUNDBITE) (English) GRANDFATHER OF INDIAN-ORI
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2021 12:16
  • Keywords: Andhra Pradesh India Sirisha Bandla Virgin Galactic exploration space
  • Location: GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA
  • City: GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Science,Space Exploration
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EKKDCGF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Grandfather of Indian-origin woman Sirisha Bandla, who would be flying to space with Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson, said he was happy and overwhelmed with her achievement.
    "I am very happy and overwhelmed with joy. My second granddaughter, she is going to the space," said Dr. Ragaiah, Bandla's grandfather.
    Bandla, who was born in Guntur district of India's southern Andhra Pradesh, will be a part of billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc's test flight on July 11 that will travel to the edge of space.
    A successful flight by Branson aboard Virgin's VSS Unity spaceplane would mark a key milestone in a race to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel.
    Branson's July 11 mission will be the twenty-second flight test for VSS Unity, and the company's fourth crewed spaceflight.
    Bandla who had developed an early interest in space completed her studies in the field before joining Virgin Galactic in 2015.
    "From the beginning, I don't know she was very much fascinated towards this sky, looking at the sky, space, how to enter the space and what is there and with this, she did her graduation also in the space studies," said grandfather of Bandla, Dr Ragaiah.
    She is the second woman born in India who will go into space after Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in 2003.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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