List of astronauts of Indian origin
As of 2024, Four people of Indian origin have been in space. The first astronaut of Indian nationality, in space was Rakesh Sharma on Soyuz T-11 in 1984.[1][2] Three astronauts – Kalpana Chawla,[3][4] Sunita Williams[5] and Raja Chari[6][7] – flew as NASA astronauts. Sirisha Bandla is the first and only Indian-born woman to make a suborbital flight, which she did on Virgin Galactic Unity 22 on July 11, 2021.[8][9][10]
Chawla and Williams are tied for the record of the number of spaceflights by an astronaut of Indian origin at two each.[11][12] Williams and Chari are the only astronauts to have made long-term spaceflights.[12][13]
Orbital[edit]
No. | Image | Name Birth date |
Ancestry | Birth | Comment | Missions (Launch date) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kalpana Chawla March 17, 1962 |
India | First Indian American in space. Died on the Columbia. | STS-87 (November 19, 1997) STS-107 (January 16, 2003) | ||
2 | Sunita Williams September 19, 1965 |
India | United States | Served on ISS Expedition 14/15 and Expedition 32/33. Second female commander of ISS. | STS-116/117 (December 9, 2006) Soyuz TMA-05M (July 15, 2012) Boeing Starliner-1 (future flight) | |
3 | Raja Chari June 24, 1977 |
India | United States | Selected in 2017 to NASA Astronaut Group 22. | SpaceX Crew-3 (November 11, 2021) |
Suborbital[edit]
No. | Image | Name Birth date |
Ancestry | Birth | Comment | Missions (Launch date) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sirisha Bandla 1988 |
India | Second Indian-born woman to fly to space | Virgin Galactic Unity 22 (July 11, 2021) | ||
2 | Gopichand Thotakura 1993 |
India | First space tourist from India.[14] | Blue Origin NS-25 (19 May 2024) |
References[edit]
- ^ "Cosmonaut Biography: Rakesh Sharma". Spacefacts.de. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ "Rakesh Sharma". Mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ Salim Rizvi (11 December 2006). "Indo-US astronaut follows Kalpana's footsteps". New York: BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
Almost four years after the death of the first American astronaut Kalpana Chawla in the Columbia space shuttle disaster, Nasa has sent another woman of Indian origin into space.
- ^ Nola Taylor Redd. "Kalpana Chawla: Biography & Columbia Disaster". Space.com. Tech Media Network. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ NASA (2007). "Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN)" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ Garcia, Mark (February 7, 2018). "Astronaut Candidate Raja Chari". NASA. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ^ Harwood, William (June 7, 2017). "NASA introduces 12 new astronauts". CBS News. CBS Broadcasting. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ^ "Sirisha Bandla: India celebrates woman who flew on Virgin Galactic". BBC News. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ^ "Family of Indian-American astronaut on Virgin Galactic crew "happy and overwhelmed"". Reuters. 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Biographical Data" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ a b "Sunita L. Williams – NASA". Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "NASA Astronaut: Raja Chari – NASA". Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ John, Nirmal (2024-04-12). "Meet Gopichand Thotakura, the 2nd Indian citizen in space after Rakesh Sharma". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-04-14.