<p>Sirisha Bandla has become the fourth person of Indian origin to have entered space, after Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.</p>.<p>Bandla, 34, hails from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, and her family settled in the US in the nineties, when she was a few years old.</p>.<p>On Sunday, Bandla, Vice President, Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic flew into space and landed back on Earth safely in about an hour-long flight along with the aerospace and space travel company's founder Richard Branson and four other employees.</p>.<p>Bandla became the second Indian-born woman, after Kalpana Chawla, to fly up into space, a feat described by her family and friends as a “fulfilling moment of her life-long ambition to be an astronaut.”</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/experience-of-a-lifetime-billionaire-branson-achieves-space-dream-1007479.html">'Experience of a lifetime': Billionaire Branson achieves space dream</a></strong></p>.<p>The “Unity 22” mission of Virgin Galactic generated much interest in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as Bandla is the first Telugu person to have entered space.</p>.<p>“That Sirisha is the first Telugu person / woman to be in space is interesting and important. But, Sirisha flying into space itself is the bigger story. Millions of people dream, but only a few persevere at making their dreams come true. I am proud of Sirisha for never wavering in her path, and prouder of her parents who helped her in pursuing her dream. I salute Sirisha and her parents for their courage,” said V Chowdary Jampala, a former president of Telugu Association of North America (TANA).</p>.<p>Sirisha's family consists of father Muralidhar Bandla, mother Anuradha Bandla and a sister. She grew up in Houston, Texas and is an engineer from Purdue University. She did post graduation from George Washington University. Her paternal grandfather Dr Bandla Ragaiah is a retired agriculture scientist in Guntur.</p>.<p>Sirisha regularly visits India and her next trip is scheduled for December.</p>.<p>As part of the space flight mission, Bandla's job was to evaluate the human-tended research experience, using an experiment from the University of Florida that requires several hand- held fixation tubes activated at various points in the flight profile.</p>.<p><strong>CM conveys best wishes to Sirisha</strong></p>.<p>Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said that its a proud moment for the state as Guntur-born Bandla Sirisha flew on Virgin Gailactic spaceflight, and wished her good luck in the space mission.</p>.<p>The trajectory of the 34-year-old aeronautical engineer has been amazing and reached great heights and Sirisha, the second Indian-born woman in space, would propel to higher orbits by the successful mission of Unity 22, the chief minister said.</p>
<p>Sirisha Bandla has become the fourth person of Indian origin to have entered space, after Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.</p>.<p>Bandla, 34, hails from Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, and her family settled in the US in the nineties, when she was a few years old.</p>.<p>On Sunday, Bandla, Vice President, Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic flew into space and landed back on Earth safely in about an hour-long flight along with the aerospace and space travel company's founder Richard Branson and four other employees.</p>.<p>Bandla became the second Indian-born woman, after Kalpana Chawla, to fly up into space, a feat described by her family and friends as a “fulfilling moment of her life-long ambition to be an astronaut.”</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/experience-of-a-lifetime-billionaire-branson-achieves-space-dream-1007479.html">'Experience of a lifetime': Billionaire Branson achieves space dream</a></strong></p>.<p>The “Unity 22” mission of Virgin Galactic generated much interest in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as Bandla is the first Telugu person to have entered space.</p>.<p>“That Sirisha is the first Telugu person / woman to be in space is interesting and important. But, Sirisha flying into space itself is the bigger story. Millions of people dream, but only a few persevere at making their dreams come true. I am proud of Sirisha for never wavering in her path, and prouder of her parents who helped her in pursuing her dream. I salute Sirisha and her parents for their courage,” said V Chowdary Jampala, a former president of Telugu Association of North America (TANA).</p>.<p>Sirisha's family consists of father Muralidhar Bandla, mother Anuradha Bandla and a sister. She grew up in Houston, Texas and is an engineer from Purdue University. She did post graduation from George Washington University. Her paternal grandfather Dr Bandla Ragaiah is a retired agriculture scientist in Guntur.</p>.<p>Sirisha regularly visits India and her next trip is scheduled for December.</p>.<p>As part of the space flight mission, Bandla's job was to evaluate the human-tended research experience, using an experiment from the University of Florida that requires several hand- held fixation tubes activated at various points in the flight profile.</p>.<p><strong>CM conveys best wishes to Sirisha</strong></p>.<p>Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said that its a proud moment for the state as Guntur-born Bandla Sirisha flew on Virgin Gailactic spaceflight, and wished her good luck in the space mission.</p>.<p>The trajectory of the 34-year-old aeronautical engineer has been amazing and reached great heights and Sirisha, the second Indian-born woman in space, would propel to higher orbits by the successful mission of Unity 22, the chief minister said.</p>