Bandla joined Virgin Galactic in 2015, where she works as the vice president of government affairs.[5] On Sunday 11 July 2021 Bandla flew on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 test flight alongside Sir Richard Branson, Dave Mackay, Michael Masucci, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett. The rocket plane flew 85 km (53 mi) above Earth,[4] thereby qualifying the crew as FAAcommercial astronauts.[14] During the flight, Bandla conducted an experiment from the University of Florida to investigate how plants react to the change in gravity.[15] About her flight, Bandla's grandfather, Dr Bandla Ragaiah, said: “From a very young age she had this ambition to explore the sky, the moon, and the stars. Sirisha had set her eyes on space, and I am not at all surprised that she is all set to realise her dream."[9] During her spaceflight, she reached a height of 89.9 km above the Earth's surface. Unity 22, being the first fully crewed test flight for Virgin Galactic, qualified Sirisha to be awarded commercial astronaut wings by the Federal Aviation Authority.[16]
^Fisher, Kristin (10 December 2021). "First on CNN: The US gives Bezos, Branson and Shatner their astronaut wings". CNN. Retrieved 10 December 2021. The US government is making it official, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and William Shatner have earned the title of astronaut after their flights to the edge of space. The Federal Aviation Administration will also award Commercial Space Astronaut Wings to 12 other people who have flown at least 50 miles above Earth on a FAA licensed commercial spacecraft, including the crew of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. The FAA will award wings to eight people who flew on Blue Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft, three who flew on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, and to the four members of the SpaceX crew who spent three days in space in September.