Houston | Aviator Gopi Thotakura has said that he is proud to become the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin's NS-25 mission.

Blue Origin's seventh human flight carrying Thotakura, 30, and five others lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas on Sunday and landed successfully.

He is the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after the Indian Army's Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984.

"India into space," he was heard saying from the spaceflight in a video posted by Blue Origin on X. He was also seen holding the small Indian flag.

The 30-year-old Andhra Pradesh-born entrepreneur and pilot was also seen holding a banner which read "I am an eco-warrior for our sustainable planet".