In a few hours, business tycoon Sir Richard Branson will make history by becoming the first billionaire to fly into space. But Branson isn’t the only one keeping an eye on the coveted award.
Billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also set for a space mission. It should fly into space this month.
Who are the Indians cheering for in this space race? The answer is: “Namma ooru payan [Our country boy] Mr. Richard “.
READ: Explainer: How Richard Branson will fly into space with his own rocket
In December 2019, Richard Branson revealed his connections to India at a press conference during the take-off of the Virgin Atlantic flight from Mumbai to London. He had told reporters that a DNA test had shown that some of his ancestors were of Indian descent.
Branson’s India connect
Branson even said on a social media post, “Great to be in India to celebrate @virginatlantic’s new route to Mumbai and to attend #AnandMahindra for our Business Is An Adventure event. We also unveiled our newest flying icon, Aria, named after my great-great-grandfather’s great wife who was Indian. “
“I knew there were previous generations in India, but I didn’t realize how strong our connections were. It turns out there were four generations here in Cuddalore from 1793 and one of my great, great, great-grandmothers was an Indian named Aria who was married to one of my great, great-great-grandfathers, “Richard Branson had told reporters.
He added: “Every time I meet an Indian I say that we may be relatives.”
VSS unit
Richard Branson will be part of his company’s Virgin Galactic company’s first single-crew space flight. The “VSS Unity” has a crew of six who will take off from New Mexico on July 11th.
While announcing his trip into space, Branson said in a tweet: “I’ve always been a dreamer. My mother taught me never to give up and reach for the stars. On July 11th, it’s time to change that dream into reality aboard the next @VirginGalactic spaceflight. “
I’ve always been a dreamer. My mother taught me never to give up and reach for the stars. On July 11th, it will be time to turn that dream into reality on board the next @VirginGalactic Space flight https://t.co/x0ksfnuEQ3 # Unit22 pic.twitter.com/GWskcMSXyA
– Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 1, 2021
Interestingly, VSS Unity will be one too Crew member of Indian origin – Sirisha Bandla. The 34-year-old aerospace engineer had previously said in a tweet: “I am so incredibly honored to be part of the great crew of # Unity22 and to be part of a company whose mission is to make space available to everyone.”
The Unity 22 mission will be the twenty-second test flight of VSS Unity, and this will be the fourth Virgin Galactic space flight with a crew on board. It is also the first space flight with two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin, including the company’s founder, “Namma ooru payan” Sir Richard Branson.
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