Shirisha Bandla, Indian-origin aeronautical engineer, set to fly into space today on Virgin Galactic spacecraft

The 34-year-old will become the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

Houston: Sirisha Bandla, a 34-year-old aeronautical engineer, is set to become the third Indian-origin woman to head to space when she flies as part of Virgin Galactic's first fully crewed flight test on Sunday. Bandla, who was born in the Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh and brought up in Houston, Texas, will join Sir Richard Branson, the company's billionaire founder, 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 honoured 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.