This woman, became 4th Indian to go to space, but was unable to become an astronaut due to…

Sirisha Bandla is an Indian-American aeronautical engineer and space tourist who works as Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson. She is the second India-born woman and fourth person of Indian origin to have crossed the Kármán line, following Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla, and Sunita Williams. She crossed this mark during her flight aboard Virgin Galactic's Unity 22 mission.

Born in the Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, to a Telugu Hindu family, Sirisha spent much of her childhood between Hyderabad and Tenali at the homes of her grandfather and grandmother, respectively. When Sirisha was five years old, she moved with her family to Houston, Texas.

Continuing in aerospace as a passion, Sirisha pursued her bachelor's in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University and later followed this up with an MBA at George Washington University. Her ambition was to become a NASA astronaut, but eyesight problems meant that was not in the cards. She got a job as an aerospace engineer with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and worked on several projects with Matthew Isakowitz. She eventually co-founded the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship in his honor.

She joins Virgin Galactic in 2015 and plays a very instrumental role in government affairs there. On July 11, 2021, she traveled on the Unity 22 test flight with Sir Richard Branson and other crew. The mission reached 85 km (53 miles). It was recognized as commercial spaceflight by the FAA. During the flight, Sirisha conducted an experiment for the University of Florida on plant responses to changes in gravity. Her grandfather, Dr. Bandla Ragaiah, celebrated her achievement, calling it the fulfillment of her lifelong dream.

Although the VF-01 mission was automated, Sirisha did not participate in any part of the flight; she is still officially registered as a space tourist. Her achievement has earned Sirisha a place on BBC's list of 100 Women for December 2022, recognizing her impact and trailblazing journey.