Sirisha Bandla
శిరీష బండ్ల
Born
Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India[1]
StatusActive
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPurdue University, George Washington University
Space career
Current occupation
Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations, Virgin Galactic
Time in space
14 min 17 seconds
SelectionVirgin Galactic
MissionsVirgin Galactic Unity 22
Mission insignia

Sirisha Bandla (Telugu: శిరీష బండ్ల; c. 1988) is an Indian-American aeronautical engineer.[2] She is the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic.[3] She flew on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission which made her the second India-born woman to go to space and the fourth person of Indian descent ever to go past the line of space after Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.[4][5][6]

Early life and education

Bandla was born into a Telugu Hindu family in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India.[7][8] After her birth, Bandla's family moved to Tenali in Guntur. Until the age of five, Bandla split her time between her grandfather's house in Hyderabad, and her grandmother's house in Tenali.[9][10] Bandla later moved to Houston, United States with her parents.[9][11]

Bandla received her bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University. She subsequently achieved her master's degree in business administration from George Washington University.[12]

Career

Bandla hoped to become a NASA astronaut but was ruled out on medical grounds due to her eyesight.[11] She previously worked for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation as an aerospace engineer with Matthew Isakowitz.[12] She later co-founded the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship in his honor.[13]

Bandla joined Virgin Galactic in 2015, where she works as the vice president of government affairs.[5] On Sunday 11 July 2021 Bandla flew on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 test flight alongside Sir Richard Branson, Dave Mackay, Michael Masucci, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett. The rocket plane flew 85 km (53 mi) above Earth,[4] thereby qualifying the crew as FAA commercial astronauts.[14] During the flight, Bandla conducted an experiment from the University of Florida to investigate how plants react to the change in gravity.[15] About her flight, Bandla's grandfather, Dr Bandla Ragaiah, said: “From a very young age she had this ambition to explore the sky, the moon, and the stars. Sirisha had set her eyes on space, and I am not at all surprised that she is all set to realise her dream."[9] During her spaceflight, she reached a height of 89.9 km above the Earth's surface. However, as she was not a member of the Flight Crew (as VF-01 was an automated launch), she is classified by the Federal Aviation Authority as a Space Tourist.[16]

She was honored as one of the BBC 100 Women in December 2022.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Sirisha Bandla: India-born woman set to go to space alongside Richard Branson". The Economic Times. July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ Fisher, Kristin (10 December 2021). "First on CNN: The US gives Bezos, Branson and Shatner their astronaut wings". CNN. Retrieved 10 December 2021. The US government is making it official, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and William Shatner have earned the title of astronaut after their flights to the edge of space. The Federal Aviation Administration will also award Commercial Space Astronaut Wings to 12 other people who have flown at least 50 miles above Earth on a FAA licensed commercial spacecraft, including the crew of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. The FAA will award wings to eight people who flew on Blue Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft, three who flew on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, and to the four members of the SpaceX crew who spent three days in space in September.
  3. ↑ "Exclusive: Sirisha Bandla's Proud Grandfather on Second India-Born Woman in Space". The Better India. 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  4. 1 2 "Sirisha Bandla: India celebrates woman who flew on Virgin Galactic". BBC News. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  5. 1 2 "Family of Indian-American astronaut on Virgin Galactic crew "happy and overwhelmed"". Reuters. 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  6. ↑ Madhok, Diksha (12 July 2021). "Sirisha Bandla, India-born woman and Virgin Galactic executive, flies into space with Richard Branson". CNN. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  7. ↑ "Andhra Pradesh-Born Sirisha Bandla Will Be Second Indian-Origin Woman To Fly To Space". outlookindia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  8. ↑ "India-Born Sirisha Bandla To Fly On Virgin Galactic Spacecraft Tomorrow". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  9. 1 2 3 "Sirisha Bandla goes to space: 'Always wanted to explore sky, stars'". The Indian Express. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  10. ↑ Pandey, Ashish (July 11, 2021). "A look at childhood photographs of Indian-American astronaut Sirisha Bandla before she zooms off into space". India Today. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  11. 1 2 "Indian-origin aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla set to fly into space on Virgin Galactic spacecraft". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  12. 1 2 "Sirisha Bandla will become the second Indian-born woman to fly into space". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  13. ↑ "MIFP Team Member Sirisha Bandla Earns Astronaut Wings on Virgin Galactic Spaceflight". Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  14. ↑ Chow, Denise (20 July 2021). "Amazon's Jeff Bezos makes history with all-civilian suborbital flight". NBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  15. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (2021-07-11). "Who were the crew members aboard the flight?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  16. ↑ "FAA Commercial Space Policy" (PDF).
  17. ↑ "BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
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