SERA partners with India for its human spaceflight programme, offering a unique opportunity for an Indian citizen to travel to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
Bollywood Fever: The U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) announced on Monday that India will be a partner country in its human spaceflight programme. This initiative aims to launch six citizen astronauts from around the world into space, in collaboration with Blue Origin.
The programme targets individuals from countries that have sent “few or no astronauts” to space, according to SERA. The selected citizens will embark on an 11-minute journey aboard New Shepard, Blue Origin‘s reusable suborbital rocket, following training at the launch site in West Texas.
“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 SERA Co-Founder Joshua Skurla.
Those interested in the programme must pay a $2.50 fee for verification checks and meet certain physical requirements, SERA stated. The final candidate will be chosen through a public vote.
“This approach of public voting will ignite national conversations on space and foster international collaboration in space exploration,” added SERA Co-Founder Sam Hutchison.
India has achieved several key milestones in the space sector recently, including becoming the first country to land on the unexplored south pole of the moon. In addition, India launched its first solar mission in September and is collaborating with SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, to launch a communications satellite.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently sworn in for a rare third term, has been advocating for increased privatisation and commercialisation of India’s space sector. He aims for India to play a larger role on the global stage, especially in space exploration, alongside major players like the U.S.
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