'Mere Pyare Deshvasiyo' Ax4 Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla addresses India from Space
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla had a message in Hindi for all the people in the India subcontinent eagerly awaiting news about him from space
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Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Indian in Space: A 41-year wait that won't repeat
Rakesh Sharma (left) and Shubhanshu Shukla When Wing Commander (retd) Rakesh Sharma soared into space aboard a Soviet spacecraft in April 1984, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla wasn't even born. It would be another year-and-a-half before he entered the world — by which time Sharma's feat had already become part of the national consciousness, a story told in classrooms and remembered with pride. Now, 41 years later, Shukla has followed in his footsteps, becoming only the second Indian to travel to space. The long gap between the two milestones tells a story of shifting priorities, geopolitical turns, and the slow grind of building independent capability. But while it took over four decades for India to send another one of its own beyond the atmosphere, the next journey will not take as long. Unlike Sharma, who flew as part of a Soviet mission when India lacked its own programme, Shukla's spaceflight is tied closely to India's growing ambitions in human space exploration. Though Ax-4 is still international in nature, it comes at a time when the country's own human spaceflight programme — Gaganyaan — is beginning to take concrete shape. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has already developed key technologies for crew safety, including a successful test of the crew escape system and a high-altitude abort demonstration. The first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission is planned for later this year, and more such missions will follow to test systems rigorously before humans are sent aboard. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Unlike the past, when India depended on partnerships for crewed missions, the current roadmap envisages a self-reliant human spaceflight capability. Isro's Gaganyaan is designed to carry a crew to an orbit of 400km and return them safely after a mission duration of up to seven days. Final decisions on how many crew members would go and for how many days will come later. The spacecraft will launch atop a modified version of the LVM3 rocket, which has already demonstrated its reliability in placing payloads in space. Training of astronauts will also become largely home-grown. While Sharma trained in the Soviet Union, and Shukla trained partly in the US for this mission, India now has a dedicated astronaut training facility in Bengaluru, which will be enhanced in the coming years. This will allow future Indian astronauts to be selected, trained, and flown from home soil. The broader goal extends beyond low-Earth orbit. Over the next two decades, India aims to build long-term human presence capabilities, develop space station modules, and implement lunar crewed missions. But those are plans for the future. What's certain for now is that with institutional structures, flight-tested hardware, and committed investment, India's return to space with its own people aboard will no longer be an event separated by generations. Shukla's spaceflight marks the end of a long silence. The next Indian in space, it appears, won't have to wait four decades.
India.com
33 minutes ago
- India.com
India returns to human spaceflight after 41 years as Falcon 9 returns post ISS lift-off with Shubhanshu Shukla aboard
shubhanshu shukla India's return to human spaceflight: In a great moment for Indian space story, Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to reach the International Space Station (ISS), 41 years after Rakesh Sharma's historic mission. For those unversed, Shukla is part of Axiom Space's fourth private spaceflight mission. Launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 pm IST carrying the astronauts of the Axiom-4 mission towards the ISS. India's return to human spaceflight The astronauts began orbiting the Earth 10 minutes after the launch, prompting Shukla to announce India's return to human spaceflight after 41 years. 'Kamaal ki ride thi (It was a great ride),' Shukla said soon after the Dragon spacecraft was placed in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 200 km. The spacecraft is expected to dock at the ISS at 4:30 pm on Thursday, capping a 28-hour journey. Mission to space The Lucknow-born Shukla, former NASA astronaut Mission Commander Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are part of the Axiom-4 mission that marks the return to space for the three nations. Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, a journey that comes 41 years after Rakesh Sharma's eight days in orbit as part of the then Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984. 'Namaskar, my dear countrymen; we have reached space after 41 years. It was a great ride,' Shukla said. 'We are orbiting Earth at a speed of 7.5 km per second, I have the Indian tricolour embossed on my shoulders that tells me that I am with all of you,' he said in Hindi. Notably, Shukla is expected to participate in several outreach events during his stay at the ISS and is also expected to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (With inputs from agencies)
India Gazette
34 minutes ago
- India Gazette
PM Modi's decision to open space sector
New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to open up the space sector to private players as a 'turning point' that sparked a 'miraculous' transformation. He projected that the sector could grow to 40-45 billion US dollars in a decade, and added that experiments to be conducted by astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during the Axiom-4 mission will help prepare for future space missions like Chandrayaan-4 and the Bharat Space Station planned for 2035. Singh said that one of the biggest milestones in India's space programme came when the private sector was allowed to participate. 'I think one of the greatest turning points in India's space journey has been PM Modi's pathbreaking decision to allow the private sector to step in. The change has been miraculous. The transformation in the last 4-5 years - there are thousands of crores of investment happening from the private sector,' Singh told ANI. He further said that India's space sector is set for rapid growth in the coming years. 'Our future projections indicate that in about 8-10 years we might go up to 4-5 times higher, about 40-45 billion US dollars. So, the opening of the space for the private sector was a very courageous decision which could have been taken only by a political dispensation with a tremendous amount of conviction and willpower,' the union minister said. Referring to India's growing ambitions in space exploration, Singh said the recent Axiom Mission 4 would provide valuable experience for future Indian missions. 'I think it will be a good experience also for future missions. This, coupled with Chandrayaan 4, also for missions like Bharat Space Station, which we plan to have by 2035 and for prolonged stay in space or in microgravity conditions - what are the arrangements to be put in place will also be learnt through the experiments to be conducted by Shubhanshu,' Singh said. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the successful launch of the Axiom Mission 4 and stated that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is carrying the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indian citizens. 'We welcome the successful launch of the Space Mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the US. The Indian Astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is on the way to become the first Indian to go to the International Space Station. He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!' PM Modi said in a post on X. Singh, in a prior X post following the successful lift-off of Axiom Mission 4, said that India's rise to the status of a 'Viksit Bharat' has begun through space exploration. 'Congratulations, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla -- you are the first Indian Astronaut to embark on a mission to the International Space Station. Indeed,a proud moment for India! ISRO's growing global collaborations, after the reforms introduced by the government headed by PM Narendra Modi, have placed India as a frontline nation in Space exploration,' Singh wrote. He said Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will carry out seven important experiments designed by Indian institutes. The minister also took the opportunity to remember and honour the visionaries behind India's space ambitions, Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan. The Axiom Mission 4 was launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 2:31 am Eastern Time (noon IST). (ANI)
