The Indian Panorama

Tag: Sirisha Bandla

  • Sirisha Bandla has joined board of advisers of the Kalpana Chawla Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism and Space Studies.

    Sirisha Bandla has joined board of advisers of the Kalpana Chawla Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism and Space Studies.

    Indian American astronaut Sirisha Bandla joins Board of Advisers of the Kalpana Chawla Project

    NEW YORK (TIP):  As UN celebrates “Women in Space” during World Space Week (Oct. 4-10), Indian American astronaut Sirisha Bandla has joined board of advisers of the Kalpana Chawla Project for Innovation, Entrepreneurism and Space Studies.

    The Kalpana Chawla project at the International Space University has been established to honor the Karnal, India, born Dr. Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian descent to go to space, who died in Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

    The project is focused on developing strong technical and leadership qualities with talented Indian women.

    “I am honored to join the Board of Advisors of the The Kalpana Chawla Project. Dr. Kalpana Chawla was not only a great inspiration for me, but also for millions of other young Indian women and girls,” stated Bandla in an ISU press release. “This year’s UN World Space Week is particularly relevant because it celebrates the importance of women in space,” added Bandla who flew on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission to become the second India-born woman to go to space. Born in Guntur, India, Bandla moved to the US, where she eventually attended university and graduated with a BS in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA from George Washington University. She’s the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic, where she has worked since 2015.

    Bandla also announced the graduation of five top scholars from 2021 Space Studies Program (SSP) at the ISU. They are:

    Richal Abhang: Richal works as a mechanical engineering student where her task is to design and manufacture prototypes including seismic vibration isolation and dampening systems.

    It includes mathematical modelling, CAD, FEA, Manufacturing and Experimentation. She is inclined more towards technical aspects of work and studies. A researcher who enjoys hands-on work and counts physics and fluid mechanics among her favorite subjects.

    Sucheshna Patil; An Engineer, Patil has a Masters & Bachelor of Engineering in Biotechnology Degree with experience at reputed Research Institutes as MD Anderson Cancer Center, Methodist Research Institute, TTU Center for Biotechnology & Genomics with focus on Molecular biology, Stem Cell culture, Cloning, Protein expression, Antibody Validation & Optimization, IHC, and Multiplex IF.

    Dr. Saswati Das: Das is an MD Biochemist from India. As a medical specialist she oversees a broad portfolio of chemical pathology diagnostics, molecular medicine, and quality management.

    In addition to her role as a specialist, she has spearheaded Covid-19 response efforts by advocating the development of evidence-informed testing strategy, participating in webinars as a subject matter expert, and capacity building by training laboratory personnel.

    She completed her bachelor’s in medicine and surgery and her Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Delhi.

    Thereafter she trained in Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, New York USA, and Royal Free Hospital, NHS UK as an international fellow. She has authored many publications on healthcare quality assurance, CAD, biomarkers, and COVID-19.

    Her research interests are Cardiac Biochemistry, Prenatal Screening, Neonatal screening, Radiation Biochemistry, Space Medicine, Nutrition Biochemistry, Multi-Omics, and Risk Management.

    Monica Ekal : A PhD student at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, Ekal is researching dynamic uncertainty reduction for on-orbit free-flyer operations. Skilled in robot estimation, trajectory planning, and control, she has five years of experience in designing algorithms for aerial and space robots, including at EPFL (Lausanne), and MIT (Boston).

    Her work has been tested on NASA’s Astrobee robotic platform onboard the International Space Station.

    Dr. Garima Patel: A Senior Physiotherapist with 8+ years of clinical experience in neurological rehabilitation, Patel is the founder director of Movement Inspirant Pvt. Ltd. and currently involved in research related to functional recovery after spinal cord injury and stroke.

    Her research interests also include effects of altered gravity on the human body, exercise countermeasures and Women’s Health in space. She is an alumnus of AIIPMR and SVNIRTAR (pioneer institutes of physiotherapy in India).

    Since 2017, the Dr. KC Scholars has been funding young Indian women of talent to attend the ISU. There has been a total of 16 KC Scholars to date.

    The goal is to attract talented Indian women who are postgraduate students with backgrounds in science, medicine, materials, arts, policy, business management, satellite technology, and other space-related areas of focus, who also share Dr. Chawla’s selfless and passionate pursuit of education and excellence, ISU said.

    Since its founding in 1987, ISU has graduated more than 5200 students from over 110 countries.

     

  • Sirisha Bandla isthe third Indian-Origin Woman to fly into Space

    Sirisha Bandla isthe third Indian-Origin Woman to fly into Space

    HOUSTON (TIP): Aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla on Sunday, July 11, became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space when she joined British billionaire Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic’s first fully crewed suborbital test flight from New Mexico. Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity, as the spaceplane is called, took off for the 1.5-hour mission above New Mexico following a 90-minute delay due to bad weather. Ms Bandla joined Branson and five others on board Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity to make a journey to the edge of space from New Mexico. “I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all,” 34-year-old Bandla tweeted days before the flight.

    “When I first heard that I was getting this opportunity, it was just… I was speechless. I think that that probably captured it very well. This is an incredible opportunity to get people from different backgrounds, different geographies and different communities into space,” she said in a video posted on the Twitter handle of Virgin Galactic on July 6. The primary objective for Unity 22 was to serve as a test flight for future commercial passenger flights by Virgin Galactic.

    Ms Bandla, who was born in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh and brought up in Houston, was astronaut No 004 and her flight role was Researcher Experience. The other crewmembers were two pilots and three other crewmates, including billionaire Branson, who turns 71 in a week.

    She became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian citizen to travel in space. The former Indian Air Force pilot flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on April 3, 1984, part of the Soviet Interkosmos program. Ms Bandla moved to the US when she was 4-year-old and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University in 2011. She finished her Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University in 2015.

    Ms Bandla wanted to be an astronaut for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). However, her poor eyesight meant she could not meet the requirements to become a pilot or an astronaut. When she was at Purdue University, a professor told her about an opportunity in the field of commercial space flights.

    Virgin Galactic – the business Branson started in 2004 – aims to fly private citizens to the edge of space. The trips are designed to permit passengers to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and observe the curvature of Earth.

  • Indian American Astronaut Sirisha Bandla set to fly off into space on July 11

    Indian American Astronaut Sirisha Bandla set to fly off into space on July 11

    Third woman of Indian descent to fly into space will be a mission specialist on Virgin Galactic’s ‘Unity 22’ flight.

    WASHINGTON (TIP) July 5:  Indian American Sirisha Bandla is all set to fly off into space on July 11 as a mission specialist on Virgin Galactic’s next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity with Company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson. The “Unity 22” mission, the twenty-second flight test for VSS Unity, will be the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin, according to a company announcement.

    While boss Branson will be testing the private astronaut experience, Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic, will be evaluating the human-tended research experience.

    Andhra, India born Bandla will be using an experiment from the University of Florida that requires several handheld fixation tubes that will be activated at various points in the flight profile

    “I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all,” she tweeted.

    Bandla will be the third Indian American woman to fly into space after Karnal, India, born Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

    Building on the success of the Company’s most recent spaceflight in May, Unity 22 will focus on cabin and customer experience objectives, including:

    – Evaluating the commercial customer cabin with a full crew, including the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless experience, and the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers — all to ensure every moment of the astronaut’s journey maximizes the wonder and awe created by space travel
    – Demonstrating the conditions for conducting human-tended research experiments
    – Confirming the training program at Spaceport America supports the spaceflight experience

    For the first time, Virgin Galactic will share a global livestream of the spaceflight. The livestream will be available to watch on Virgin Galactic.com and will be simulcast on the Virgin Galactic Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook channels. It is expected to begin at 7:00 am MDT / 9:00 am EDT on the day of the flight. Branson said: “I truly believe that space belongs to all of us. After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good.” “It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality,” he said.

    “As part of a remarkable crew of mission specialists, I’m honored to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin.”

    Previously, Bandla served as the Associate Director for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies.

    At CSF, Bandla works on various policies with the aim to promote the commercial space industry and make commercial spaceflight a reality. Before CSF, she worked as an aerospace engineer designing components for advanced aircraft at L-3 Communications in Greenville, Texas.

    She has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from Purdue and holds a Masters of Business Administration from George Washington University.

    Bandla currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Astronautical Society, Future Space Leaders Foundation, and is a member of the Young Professional Advisory Council at Purdue University. Bandla also helps to coordinate the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program.

    Meanwhile, Bandla’s grandparents back in Andhra Pradesh are flooded with phone calls and messages showering their blessings and wishing her the best, according to the Indian Express.

    Bandla Ragaiah, her paternal grandfather based in Guntur, says it was at the age of four years that Sirisha, who was always curious about flying and had her eyes set on the skies, took to her first adventure.

    “At the age of four, she travelled alone to the US where her parents and older sister lived,” the 83-year-old who worked as a principal scientist and professor at state-run Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University told Indianexpress.com over the phone.

    “Though the person who accompanied her was known to us, he was a stranger to her. She was not scared to fly alone. She was excited,” he said.

    Ragaiah is happy and proud that his granddaughter is set to achieve her dreams. He recalls her as a child who was decisive in her thoughts and determined to achieve them.

    “We don’t know how she got interested in aircraft, stars and skies. It has been in her since childhood. Whatever she has achieved today is on her own accord and her parents gave her full freedom to pursue her dream. She has proved her excellence and rose to the occasion,”
    Ragaiah was quoted as saying.

    Her maternal grandfather, Venkat Narasiah, who retired as a Chemistry professor and lives at Tenali in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, echoed similar views.

    He recalled that Bandla used to visit NASA during the family’s stay in Houston. “She was so interested in flying an aircraft that even after she could not make it to NASA due to a condition in her eyesight, she pursued higher education in the same field. For those like her, she has done videos on YouTube — ‘lessons from Bandla Sirisha’ on how to get into the Space industry,” Narasiah told Indianexpress.com.

    Both her grandparents agree that Sirisha was a fearless and active child. “When I used to come home late at night, I used to discourage her from stepping out. But she would always tell me not to worry and that she could take care of herself,” said Ragaiah.

    “Even during a power cut when other children of her age would be scared of the pitch darkness around, she was not one of them,” Narsiah added.