SERA announced India as a partner nation for Blue Origin human space flight
The chosen folks will train at Blue Origin's West Texas launch pad before making the 11-minute flight on New Shepard, the company's reusable suborbital rocket
On Monday. July 1st, 2024, the U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) and Blue Origin announced India as a partner nation in their human spaceflight program, which will see six citizen astronauts from across the world launched into space.
“By giving communities the power to choose their astronauts, we ensure this mission is driven by people, for people,” said Sam Hutchison, Co-Founder, of SERA.
According to the ESA, the program—which is being carried out in partnership with Blue Origin—is intended for citizens of nations that have launched “few or no astronauts” into space.
“We’re excited to have India as part of our human spaceflight programme,” said Joshua Skurla, Co-Founder, of SERA.
While lauding India for “becoming the first country to reach the Moon’s South Pole”, he said the company aims “to make space accessible for everyone and is happy to offer this unique opportunity to an Indian citizen who wants to experience the wonders of space travel.”
The chosen folks will train at Blue Origin’s West Texas launch pad before making the 11-minute flight on New Shepard, the company’s reusable suborbital rocket. Indian nationals will be among the six seats that Blue Origin and SERA jointly hope to provide to residents of nations who have either sent few or no citizen astronauts into space. The astronauts will descend back to the landing pad under controlled conditions after spending a few minutes in weightlessness.
SERA’s Mission to Make Space Accessible
“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,” Skurla said.
To enroll in the program, each Indian citizen must pay a fee of around $2.50, which is used to pay for the verification checks that guarantee secure and equitable voting.
For the chance to travel to space on the New Shepard mission, the public will select the top contenders based on their compelling narratives, which they may share on their mission profile sites, social media accounts, and other platforms.
The prospective astronauts will need to fulfill the physical standards set by Blue Origin. Three days before takeoff, the remaining six members of the crew will arrive at Blue Origin’s launch site in West Texas for training.
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