Entrepreneur and pilot Gopichand Thotakura, who became the first Indian to travel into space as a tourist, was all smiles as he held up the Indian flag aboard the spacecraft on Sunday.
Thotakura was among the six crew members selected as part of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin's New Shephard-25 mission.
In a video posted on the official Instagram account of Blue Origin, Thotakura can be seen showing a tiny tricolour.
The video of the crew members floating in zero gravity exudes the sheer joy and thrill of the unique experience. Thotakura has a placard that reads, "I am an eco hero of my sustainable planet."
The beaming space tourist then removes the tricolour from his pocket and holds it up.
View this post on InstagramThe video drew comments and likes from social media users with several Indians expressing joy and pride.
The other crew members on the flight included Ed Dwight, Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L Hess and Carol Schaller. At 90, Dwight has earned the laurel of being the oldest person to go to space.
"It was amazing... you have to see it with your eyes," said Thotakura after his trip. "I can't describe how it is to look into space... everybody should go to the space. It was good to see Earth from the other side," he added.
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