New Delhi:

Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin resumed its space flight today, after a two-year hiatus. A group of six adventurers completed an 11-minute journey to space after liftoff from Texas.

Mission NS-25 is the seventh crewed mission for Blue Origin, the space company founded and owned by Jeff Bezos.

30-year-old Gopi Thotakura, a pilot from Andhra Pradesh, was also part of the six-man crew. Preserve Life Corp, a medical institution close to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport that focuses mostly on holistic health methods, was co-founded by Gopi Thotakura.

He has become the first Indian to travel into space as a tourist on Blue Origin’s return flight.

“It was amazing… you have to see it with your eyes”, said Gopi Thotakura after his space trip.

“I can’t describe how it is to look into space… everybody should go to the space. It was good to see Earth from the other side,” he added.

“Gopi Thotakura is a lifelong pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive. He flies jets commercially, in addition to piloting bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes. He’s also the co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness and applied health”, said Blue Origin about the Indian crew member on social media platform X.

Gopi Thotakura is a lifelong pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive. He flies jets commercially, in addition to piloting bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes. He’s also the co-founder of Preserve Life Corp, a global center for holistic wellness and applied… pic.twitter.com/of2nzsPvEd

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) May 19, 2024

The other crew members included Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schallera, and Ed Dwight.

90-year-old Dwight surpassed Star Trek star William Shatner, who was nearly two months younger, to become the oldest person to travel into space.

Ed Dwight is the first American Black man to be trained as an astronaut. Dwight was unable to achieve his goal of being the first black astronaut in space in 1961.

“We just completed our seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program. Our #NS25 astronaut crew included: Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Ed Dwight, Ken Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura. Thank you, astronauts”, said Blue Origin on X after the space flight.

We just completed our seventh human spaceflight and the 25th flight for the New Shepard program. Our #NS25 astronaut crew included: Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Ed Dwight, Ken Hess, Carol Schaller, and Gopi Thotakura. Thank you, astronauts! Learn more: https://t.co/4a0UXRy6p6pic.twitter.com/kzL5GIQSql

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) May 19, 2024

“I was the first guy in the world to be famous for not doing something. Needless to say, I’m overwhelmed”, said Dwight before the liftoff.

Dwight was a skilled test pilot when President John F. Kennedy reassigned him to a highly competitive Air Force program, which was considered a path to the astronaut corps. But in the end, he was not chosen.

“This is a life-changing experience, everybody needs to do this,” said Dwight after the 11-minute space flight.

“I thought I didn’t really need this in my life,” reflecting on his omission from the astronaut corps, which was his first experience with failure as a young man. “But I lied”, he added.

With inputs from IANS, AFP

Ed Dwight, who is the first Black man to be trained as an astronaut, is set to become the oldest person to go to space at 90 years of age. Dwight in 1961 hoped to become the first Black astronaut in space, but he never made it.

A Blue Origin flight is finally giving the 90-year-old the chance that he was denied decades ago.

On Sunday, Dwight will join five others on a space flight by Blue Origin, the space travel company owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. The 11-minute flight will take the six members to the edge of space, helping them experience weightlessness due to zero gravity and view the Earth’s horizon.

In 1961, Dwight was selected by then US President John F. Kennedy to enter an Air Force training program, known as the Path to NASA’s Astronaut Corps. Dwight was an elite test pilot at that time, but was ultimately not picked.

In 2022, Dwight revealed that when he got the offer letter in 1961 to be the first Black astronaut, he thought “these dudes were crazy.”

After the completion of the program in 1963, the Air Force recommended him to join the corps. However, he wasn’t selected. In 1966, he resigned from the military citing strain of racial politics.

“So, all these White folks that I’m dealing with, I mean, my peers, the other guys that were astronaut candidates and the leadership was just horrified at the idea of my coming down to Edwards and the president appointing me to the position,” CBS quoted him as saying.

He dedicated the rest of his life to telling Black history through sculpture. Dwight’s art, displayed around the country, includes iconic figures like Martin Luther King Jr, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and more.

Dwight’s seat on the Blue Origin flight is believed to cost $250,000 even though the ticket prices are a well-guarded secret. His ticket has been sponsored by the nonprofit organisation, Space for Humanity, known for providing help to send citizens to space.