Sirisha Bandla becomes 3rd Indian-American Woman to Fly into Space
“The path from dreams to success does exist,” said Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to reach space. And Sirisha Bandla becomes the proud runner-up to achieve her space dream despite the odds. The Indian-American aeronautical engineer was born in Guntur, in Andhra Pradesh. She was raised in Houston and she finally achieved her dream of seeing the Earth from space on 11th July 2021.
Bandla is 34 years old and joined the team of Richard Branson on this fantastic journey to the edge of the sky. Her grandfather, Dr Bandla Ragaiah is a retired scientist. He confessed that as a child Bandla was very fascinated by the sky. She was always looking at the sky and wondering how to enter that space. Bandla’s family including both her grandparents watched the live telecast of this launch and they all are very proud of her.
Bandla moved into the US as a child. She pursued her education in the US itself and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University in 2011. In 2015, she finished her Master of Business Administration from George Washington University.
Image: Solar System Wall Art by Aapka Painter
Bandla had faced a setback when she wanted to become a pilot and astronaut. She couldn’t achieve her dream because of poor eyesight. Even though she failed to reach NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), she leapt at this opportunity to fly with the British billionaire that she found as a researcher. She went on board with four others in the Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two Unity. She believes that this would also be the beginning for many other people to experience the magical world of space.
Sirisha Bandla has successfully become the 3rd Indian woman to reach space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. This is also an invitation for many young women to dream beyond the skies. The Aapka Painter team congratulates Bandla on her victory and we hope that our painting services keep inspiring you to dream more!