Virgin Galacticâs Richard Branson, aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days, announced July 1 that its next test flight will be on July 11. Branson himself will be among the six people on board, reported the Associated Press, including Indian American Sirisha Bandla.
The winged rocket ship will soar from New Mexico â the first carrying a full crew of company employees. It will be only the fourth trip to space for Virgin Galactic.
Bandla, vice president of government affairs and research operations at Virgin Galactic, was born in Andhra Pradesh and grew up in Houston, Texas. Her passion to learn more about space inspired her to pursue a bachelor s degree in aeronautical-astronautical engineering from Purdue. She also holds an MBA from George Washington University.