Historically, Gopi Thotakura, the first Indian tourist to fly on Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin's NS-25 mission, proudly raised the Indian flag in space. Sunday saw Blue Origin successfully launch a six-person crew from West Texas to the edge of space, resuming space tourism operations for the first time since their suborbital rocket was stopped in 2022.

In a Blue Origin video, 30-year-old Thotakura waved a banner that said, "I am an eco-warrior for our sustainable planet." Declaring, "India into space," he then held up a tiny Indian flag inside the spacecraft. The crew's joy at floating inside the capsule and looking out the windows at Earth was also caught on camera.

Ten minutes after liftoff, the capsule landed back on Earth. The oldest space tourist on board was 90-year-old Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate in American history from the 1960s.

In 2021, Jeff Bezos himself flew a Blue Origin mission to the brink of space. After Rakesh Sharma in 1984, Thotakura became the second Indian to travel into space and the first space tourist.

Gopichand Thotakura is an excellent pilot and aviator who studied flying before he got his driver's license. He was born in Andhra Pradesh. Now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, he is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Aeronautical Science and Coventry University in the United Arab Emirates with a degree in Aviation Management and Operations.

Thotakura is also a co-founder of Preserve Life Corp., a worldwide hub for applied health and holistic wellness close to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.