Captain Gopichand Thotakura on May 19 became India’s first space tourist to fly to space in a private spacecraft, and the first Indian since Rakesh Sharma to go to space. For most people who have had the privilege of going to space, it brings about an epiphany. In a conversation with Firstpost, Captain Thotakura revealed that what he experienced there, was something more potent.
“Every Indian needs to go and see what it looks like from the other side. In fact, every human on this planet needs to go and see what it looks like because it will change their life,” he said.
“If you’re into space and follow the subject ardently, it’s nothing like you can even imagine. It’s not the little charts that you saw when you were a kid. It is totally different. It is something you can only witness,” the Vijayawada-born pilot said. Edited excerpts:
Now that things have settled down a bit, what’s going on in your head? How are you feeling?
We have had extensive debriefings after touching down, and I have been talking to people and the press ever since. I haven’t been able to process things properly, but I will say this — Every Indian needs to go and see what it looks like from the other side. I wish I could take the 1.4 billion in India to space and let them see what it is like.
In fact, every human on this planet needs to go and see what it looks like because it will change their lives. It certainly was the best experience of my life. Experiences like these will make you realise your purpose. It puts things into perspective, when you see the beauty of this majestic blue ball, as I call it.
And it’s not like what we have been shown in the movies, it’s not the globe that’s sitting on your table, it’s not the little charts that you saw when you were a kid. It is something completely different — something that you can only witness.
It’s like me asking to go outside and saying that, you know, look at the night stars and then take a picture of the stars from the most high-definition camera. It’s not the same. Just likewise, every Indian should go, needs to go and see what it looks like from the other side.
Astronauts often claim that people often have an epiphany when they go to space for the first time. Did you experience something like that?
I did not have an epiphany as such. I won’t say I am a changed man, but yes, there have been some changes. The intent for what I do every day has purpose to it now. I still woke up, I’m still going to go to bed. Yeah, you saw something beautiful and you came back.
But if you went to the Swiss Alps, or if you went to Kerala, or if you went to the Himalayas, you would also see something that you’ve never seen before. And it will also be beautiful. But the intent for which I wake up, and go to bed, now has a purpose to it.
When I was up there, I realised, the experience of going up on Blue Origin was not about how amazing the experience was or how amazing the rocket was, or how many G’s we pulled, or how the training was — all of these things are great.
What the experience does for you, is that it gives you a perspective about the earth. For me my purpose is now to leave the earth in a better place. You know people get carried away with their work, business, their life, and family, and believe that the little footprints they leave are not going to harm the planet. But when you add all that up, the harm that we have caused the planet becomes clear.
When we spoke before the launch, you said you do not want to speak too much about the launch or the overall experience, and would rather take it in yourself, and experience it on your own. What was the launch experience like?
I wish that every other person who can physically go up there today or 100 years later, has the courage to do it. Because it’s not something that one can describe in words, and do justice to the experience. Of course, there’s a lot going on, both physically and mentally. There is a major adrenaline rush. There’s a lot riding when you’re on the rocket. But I have to give it to Blue Origin. Their engineering their team and their technology all make it worthwhile.
There’s a lot more happening than you just sitting on a 100-foot rocket and going up. When you get to Zero-G, there is a lot more happening than you floating around in space.
You can be in shock, you can be traumatised, and so many things can happen. People have all these experiences on earth, you know, going there and seeing it after the most fastest journey of your life. But it was fine.
As for me, I was just living in the moment, trying to grasp what I just witnessed, peeking out the window. I saw the continental US, parts of Europe, and the Atlantic Ocean, all at once. Just speaking about all this should make you realise that what is he talking about exactly. One can only imagine the scale of it, which will truly come into perspective once you go up there.
During the whole process, from getting selected to going up there, and then touching down, what was the most memorable experience for you?
It would have to be the first time that I laid my eyes on the majestic blue ball that we call Earth. As soon as we unbuckled our seat belts in Zero-G, I started to float to the ceiling. It started with just a peek. I did not see enough to grasp what exactly was going on at first. By the time I situated myself, got back, turned around and stood up, things became clear.
I think it was me just staring, effortlessly, just looking outside, thinking like this is really happening. It was not a simulator, nor the 30-odd sim sessions we did leading up to the launch. It was completely different. As I said before, words really can’t even begin to describe what you feel up there. You have to go up there to witness it.
It really made me realise how tiny we are in the grand scheme of things. The overwhelming power of the universe that one feels when you go up there and lay sight on this majestic blue ball, will give you all the purpose you need to come back and make the world a better place