39 year old Indian Air Force pilot, Captain Shubhanshu Shukla creates history as the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station during the Axiom 4 mission. Launched on June 25 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, aptly named Grace. Shukla’s journey set the tri colour soaring as Indians all over now pray for his triumphant return.
Shukla is joined on his mission by commander Peggy Whitson of US and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Sławosz Uznański Wiśniewski of Poland. The spacecraft docked with the ISS at approximately 4:30 PM IST on June 26. After completing a 28 hour journey, the crew reached its destination. Shukla happens to be the 634th astronaut to travel to space. Upon arrival he was warmly welcomed by the ISS’s Expedition 73 crew. Shukla received an astronaut pin in a ceremonial gesture.
Shukla will spend a total of 14 days at the ISS during which he and his team will conduct 60 scientific experiments, seven of which were proposed by India’s very own ISRO. The experiments range from studies on tardigrades or waterbears to bio manufacturing in microgravity. These studies are expected to help India’s ambitions for its Gaganyaan program, which aspires to establish an Indian space station by 2035. According to a X (formerly Twitter) claim, ISRO has around ₹500 crores for Ax- 4.
Shukla’s emotional messages from space was filled with tradition as he called out a ‘Namaskar from space’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders of the nation lauded the mission and Shukla for bringing pride to India. Shukla’s parents, watching the docking at Lucknow’s City Montessori School, expressed feeling surreal overwhelming joy in line with the nation’s sentiment.
