Sirisha Bandla was born in Andhra Pradesh, India, and raised partly in Houston, Texas. She studied aeronautical engineering at Purdue University and built a career in commercial spaceflight, eventually serving as Vice President of Government Affairs at Virgin Galactic. On July 11, 2021, she flew on Richard Branson’s inaugural crewed spaceflight aboard VSS Unity. This flight made her the third woman of Indian origin to reach space.
