India-born Bandla set to fulfil space dream
INDIAN AMERICAN Sirisha Bandla will become the second Indian-born woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla.
Bandla will be one of the six space travellers aboard ‘VSS Unity’ of Virgin Galactic, scheduled to blast off to space on July 11 from New Mexico.
Born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, and brought up in Houston, Texas, Bandla, 34, will also be the fourth Indian to fly into space. “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,” Bandla wrote on Twitter.
As part of the sixmember crew alongside the founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson, her role will be that of a researcher experience.
An aeronautical engineer by profession, Bandla graduated from Purdue University and is the vice president of government affairs and research operations at Virgin Galactic. She also holds an MBA from George Washington University.
Her grandfather spoke of being “overwhelmed with joy.”
Dr Ragaiah, a retired scientist who goes by one name, said she had always been fascinated by space. “From the beginning, she was very much fascinated towards the sky, looking at the sky, space, how to enter space and what is there,” he said.
Branson, aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days, announced last Thursday (1) that its next test flight will be on July 11. Bandla joined Virgin Galactic in 2015, and was later promoted to business development and government affairs manager in 2017.
Previously, Bandla was associate director for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies.
At CSF, Bandla worked to help promote the commercial space industry.
Prior to that she worked as an aerospace engineer designing components for advanced aircraft at L-3 Communications in Greenville, Texas. Bandla also serves on the board of directors for the American Astronautical Society, Future Space Leaders Foundation, and is a member of the Young Professional Advisory Council at Purdue University.
The daughter of Dr Muralidhar and Anuradha Bandla, she is the recipient of the Youth Star Award given by the Telugu Association of North America for her achievements.