Rakesh Sharma, First Indian To Fly To Space, Speaks To NDTV: Top Quotes
New Delhi:
Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to fly to space, speaks to NDTV about the upcoming Axiom-4 space mission and other topics.
Here are some top quotes:
It gives us a sneak peek at what the International Space Station is going to be. It gives us a flavour of flying a private resource which can take us to space. So it's going to be very interesting at many levels. He's going to get a chance to do some experiments and also to live on the space station. It's a longish flight, 14 days, I think. And so he's going to get a sense and I think those inputs which he observes in the International Space Station can be used for our own Bharti Antariksh Station.
Well, I tell Subhanshu all the very best, happy landings and look forward to whatever you're going to see. You come back a changed person is what I'm going to tell him.
This is not the last flight India is going to do. So I'm not in a hurry. What Subhanshu is doing is important. And some very interesting experiments, which are going to be required for our long-term vision, which the Prime Minister has said. So I think whatever inputs he gets, whatever chances he gets, it will be well utilised, and the results are going to be used definitely.
Over the years, when you go over that experience, it brings in new insights as to what's happening to planet Earth. It gives you a sense of where you should be going, where space exploration should be going.
Gaganyaan is progressing well-step by step, slowly but steadily. That's the way to go because we are opening the envelope, and that's how testing is done.
Of course, I would love to fly in an Indian suit. I would love to, except that I think I was born a bit too early, and it's not going to happen in my time frame. But yes, to answer your question, I would have.
A message for Indians ahead of Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla's mission: I would say give him space when he comes back. Let him savor this experience which he's going to get and all the best for him and for everybody else. You're in for a great time because when I flew, there was only Doordarshan and now there are going to be so many TV channels. So be ready. It is going to be a lot more explanatory, the vision, the mission itself. So you're going to know a fair amount of what he's going to be doing while he's doing it and while preparing for it as well.
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