Jeff Bezos-led space company Blue Origin has revealed the six-member crew that will fly on its NS-25 mission. For most of the world, the remarkable fact is the inclusion of Ed Dwight, who became the first black astronaut candidate in 1961, despite never flying in space. But for Indians, this mission could be special because it could launch India’s first space tourist.
Entrepreneur and aviator Gopi Totakura is part of the NS-25 mission, which will carry six astronauts beyond the edge of space before returning them to Earth. When that happens, the mission could make Totakura the first Indian space tourist. But interestingly, he is not the first Indian space tourist candidate. That would be Kerala-based veteran travel documentary producer and businessman Santosh George Kulangara.
Kulangara said indianexpress.com in 2021 that he spent Rs 1.8 crore to secure a ticket aboard a Virgin Galactic space plane. Kulangara was selected as a tourist back in 2007 and has since undergone numerous trainings, including some to simulate a zero-gravity environment. He had already visited over 130 countries and was about to add another feather to his cap as an explorer, but he had yet to fly into space.
So it’s left to Totakura, whom Blue Origin describes as “a pilot and aviator who learned to fly before he could drive.” He is the COO at Asian Infrastructure Private Limited., a family business and also the co-founder of Preserve Life Corp., a “holistic health” organization.
In addition to flying commercial jets, Gopi has flown bush planes, aerobatics and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons, and has served as an international medical jet pilot. A lifelong traveler, his latest adventure took him to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro,” the company said in a press release.
Remember that neither Totakura nor Kulangara would be the first Indians to go into space. They are both a bit late for this. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian astronaut when he flew to the Soviet Salyut-7 space station in 1984 on the Soviet Soyuz T-11 rocket.
While Sharma spent seven days in space, the NS-25 mission carrying Thotakura will spend only about an hour in flight from liftoff to landing. Only about a minute of this will be spent beyond the Kármán line, which is considered the boundary of our planet’s atmosphere and the beginning of space.
The mission will also be the first crewed flight of the reusable New Shepard rocket since NS-22 in 2022. Blue Origin’s fleet of rockets, named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space, was grounded after an engine failure , caused a crash during an uncrewed mission in September 2022. It did not resume flight until December 2023, and the upcoming mission will be the crewed one, which catches fire after the accident. The company has not yet announced a release date.
As we pondered the question of the difference between India’s first space tourist and India’s first space tourist denote researchers from Northwestern University and other institutions this month made an announcement about something else scientists have been thinking about—where come heavy elements like gold and platinum?
They have often speculated that these elements were produced in supernova or stellar explosions. This should mean that we will be able to find signatures of the elements in the newly discovered supernova.
Brightest of All Time, or BOAT, is the name given to a gamma-ray burst that passed through Earth in October 2022. Gamma-ray bursts themselves are the signals from the world’s most powerful and violent explosions, which are believed to the birth of black holes. And it was the most powerful we’ve ever found.
An extensive study of BOAT helped scientists confirm that it was caused by the collapse of a neutron star, which is left over from a supernova explosion. But the research also found no traces of gold or platinum or other heavy metals. This means we still don’t know where they come from, and also suggests there’s a small chance they don’t come from supernovae.
