Overwhelmed with joy, says family of Indian-American astronaut Sirisha Bandla flying to space with Branson

Sirisha Badla is flying to space alongside billionaire Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic's July 11th flight beyond the edge of the Earth's atmosphere.

Days after Virgin announced that India-born Sirisha Bandla would be joining Richard Branson on his maiden space flight, her grandfather said that he was "overwhelmed with joy". Sirisha, who is vice president of government affairs and research operations for Virgin Galactic, is among the five astronauts accompanying the billionaire on his first flight. Sirisha, 33, who was born in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, will fly onboard Virgin Galactic's July 11 test flight that will take her beyond the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Branson's mission will be the 22nd flight test for VSS Unity, and the company's fourth crewed spaceflight.