US-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA), in collaboration with Jeff Bezos’ space tech firm Blue Origin, Monday announced India as a partner nation in their human spaceflight programme for citizens from countries which have sent few or no astronauts to space.
SERA will offer citizens from across the world six seats on a future mission of New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket.
SERA said New Shepard will fly the selected astronauts on an 11-minute journey past the Kármán line (100km), the internationally recognised boundary of space. Astronauts will experience several minutes of weightlessness before making a controlled descent back to the landing pad.
Any Indian citizen can register for the programme by paying a fee of around $2.5 to cover the costs of verification checks that ensure safe and fair voting. The final candidates will be voted on by the public for an opportunity to fly to space onboard the New Shepard mission.
Thomas Cook India & SOTC’s India Holiday Report 2023 highlighted a 70% surge in cruise holidays, or as travellers like to call them, ‘sea-cations’. Daniel D’souza, president and country head — holidays at SOTC Travel Limited, told TOI, “Cruise holidays offer an all-inclusive experience onboard a luxurious floating hotel. These include a wide range of services, from entertainment and exciting activities to diverse cuisines, wellness-spas, shopping, and exploring new locales. We are witnessing strong growth in this segment from regional India’s tier 2-3 markets, besides metros and mini metros.”
“We’re excited to have India as part of our human spaceflight programme. India has achieved remarkable milestones in its space journey the past few years, including becoming the first country to reach the Moon’s South Pole region. We want to make space accessible for everyone and are happy to offer this unique opportunity to an Indian citizen who wants to experience the wonders of space travel,” said Joshua Skurla, one of the SERA founders. “Our mission is to democratise space by enabling citizens from over 150 countries with limited access to space to participate in ground-breaking research and create history,” Skurla said. The potential astronauts will be required to meet Blue Origin’s physical requirements. They can garner votes by telling their story to the public using their mission profile pages, social media, and other resources. Voting will progress through candidate elimination across three phases. The public will vote only for candidates from their nation or region, except for the sixth global seat.“By giving communities the power to choose their astronauts, we ensure this mission is driven by people, for people. This approach will ignite national conversations on space and foster international collaboration in space exploration. The minimal physical requirements and training for New Shepard’s flight lowers the barrier to entry by allowing more diverse and inclusive participation in space,” said Sam Hutchison, another SERA founder.
Last month, in an exclusive interview to TOI, Skurla and Hutchison had said they were keen on partnering with India. “…One of the things we love about India as a potential partner country is all of its space infrastructure and activity. India can take leadership role among other nations and demonstrate its strength and leadership, which has kept our interest,” Skurla told TOI.
