Template:For As of 2025, six people of origin have been in space. The first astronaut of the Indian nationality, in space was Rakesh Sharma on Soyuz T-11 in 1984.[1][2] Three astronauts – Kalpana Chawla,[3][4] Sunita Williams,[5] Raja Chari[6][7][8] – flew as NASA astronauts. Williams with three spaceflights, have the record of most number of spaceflights by an astronaut of Indian origin.[9][10] Williams and Chari are the only astronauts to have made long-term spaceflights.[10][11]
Sirisha Bandla is the first and only Indian-born woman to make a suborbital flight as a space tourist, which she did on Virgin Galactic Unity 22 on July 11, 2021.[12][13][14]
Astronauts
Orbital
| No. | Image | Name Birth date |
Ancestry | Birth | Comment | Missions (Launch date) |
Time in Space |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Kalpana Chawla March 17, 1962 |
Template:IND | First Indian American in space and First Indian origin woman in Space. Died on the Columbia. | Template:Flagicon STS-87 (November 19, 1997) Template:Flagicon STS-107 (January 16, 2003) |
31 days, 14 hours, 54 minutes | |
| 2 | 
|
Sunita Williams September 19, 1965 |
Template:IND | Template:USA | Served on ISS Expedition 14/15, Expedition 32/33 and Expedition 71/72. Second female commander of ISS. First female astronaut to fly on an orbital spacecraft's maiden flight, i.e., Boeing Starliner. | Template:Flagicon STS-116/117 (December 9, 2006) Template:Flagicon Soyuz TMA-05M (July 15, 2012) Template:Flagicon Starliner Crewed Flight Test/SpaceX Crew-9 (June 5, 2024) |
608 days, 20 minutes |
| 3 | 
|
Raja Chari June 24, 1977 |
Template:IND | Template:USA | Selected in 2017 to NASA Astronaut Group 22. | Template:Flagicon SpaceX Crew-3 (November 11, 2021) | 176 days |
| 4 | Error creating thumbnail: | Anil Menon October 15, 1976 |
Template:IND | Template:USA | Selected in 2021 to NASA Astronaut Group 23. | Template:Flagicon Soyuz MS-29 (March 2026) (planned) |
N/A |
Space Tourists
Suborbital
| No. | Image | Name | Ancestry | Birth | Comment | Missions (Launch date) |
Time in Space |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sirisha Bandla |
Template:IND | Second Indian-born woman to fly to space, First Indian-American space tourist. | Template:Flagicon Virgin Galactic Unity 22 (July 11, 2021) |
14 minutes, 17 seconds | ||
| 2 | Andy Sadhwani | Template:IND | Template:USA | Principal Propulsion Engineer at SpaceX | Template:Flagicon Galactic 07 (June 8, 2024)[15][16] |
15 minutes, 10 seconds | |
| 3 | Tushar Mehta | Template:IND | Template:USA | a MIT graduate and Particle Physicist | Template:Flagicon Blue Origin NS-30 (February 25, 2025)[17] |
10 minutes, 8 seconds | |
| 4 | Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal | Template:IND | Indian-born real-estate investor, adventurer and private pilot. | Template:Flagicon Blue Origin NS-34 (August 3, 2025) |
10 minutes, 8 seconds | ||
References
- ↑ Cosmonaut Biography: Rakesh Sharma. Spacefacts.de. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ↑ Rakesh Sharma. Mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ↑ Indo-US astronaut follows Kalpana's footsteps(11 December 2006). Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ↑ Kalpana Chawla: Biography & Columbia Disaster. Space.com. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ↑ Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ↑ Astronaut Candidate Raja Chari, Garcia, Mark(February 7, 2018). Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- ↑ NASA introduces 12 new astronauts. CBS News(June 7, 2017). Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ↑ NASA Astronaut Candidate Anil Menon, Mars, Kelli. NASA(December 3, 2021). Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ↑ Biographical Data. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sunita L. Williams – NASA. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ↑ NASA Astronaut: Raja Chari – NASA. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ↑ Sirisha Bandla: India celebrates woman who flew on Virgin Galactic. BBC News(2021-07-12). Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ↑ Family of Indian-American astronaut on Virgin Galactic crew "happy and overwhelmed". Reuters(2021-07-05). Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ↑ Sirisha Bandla, India-born woman and Virgin Galactic executive, flies into space with Richard Branson, Madhok, Diksha. CNN(12 July 2021). Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Template:Cite press release
- ↑ Blue Origin's New Shepard Completes 30th Mission to Space. Blue Origin(25 February 2025). Retrieved 21 February 2025.