The Space Exploration and Research Agency and Blue Origin on Monday announced India as a partner nation in their human spaceflight programme for citizens from countries who have sent a few or no astronauts to space. SERA, a US-based agency, will offer citizens from across the world six seats on a future mission of New Shepard, Blue Origin's reusable suborbital rocket.
New Shepard will fly the selected astronauts on an 11-minute journey past the Kármán line (100 km), the internationally recognised boundary of space.
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Astronauts will experience several minutes of weightlessness before making a controlled descent back to the landing pad.
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"We're excited to have India as part of our human spaceflight programme," said Joshua Skurla, Co-Founder, SERA.
"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.
Any Indian citizen can register for the programme by paying a fee of approximately $2.50 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.
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. People 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," said Sam Hutchison, Co-Founder, SERA.
"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," Hutchison said.
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