Sirisha Bandla, Indian-Origin Woman, Is Among 6 Space Crew Members On Virgin Galactic's July 11 Flight

Sirisha Bandla is strong and brave in decision making, and has been fascinated by the sky from the beginning, said Dr Ragaiah, grandfather of the aeronautical engineer. Bandla will fly into space on July 11, adding that he wished her a successful return to land. She will be one of the six space travellers aboard VSS Unity of Virgin Galactic. It is scheduled to take off to space on July 11 from New Mexico alongside the founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson.

The Telugu woman who was brought up in Houston will become the second India-born woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla. Rakesh Sharma & Sunita Williams were the other Indians who went into space. Taking to Twitter, Bandla shared she was "incredibly honoured" to be part of the crew. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also shared two pictures, one featuring all five members of the crew and a solo photo of Sirisha Bandla on his official Twitter handle. UK billionaire & founder of the Virgin Galactic company Richard Branson announced on June 2 that he will make a spaceflight on July 11. Watch the video to know more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 05, 2021 01:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).