logo
Before astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space mission, excitement anxiety & a little prayer

Before astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space mission, excitement anxiety & a little prayer

For the last few days, the sprawling white single-storeyed Anshu Niwas in one corner of Lucknow's Triveni Nagar has been seeing a steady stream of friends, relatives, well-wishers and the media. They are all there for one reason – to offer their good wishes to the owners of the house, the Shuklas, for their 39-year-old Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu 'Gunjan' Shukla's maiden flight to space.
On June 10 – over 10 months after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) first announced his name as one of four astronauts as part of Axiom Space's fourth commercial mission to the International Space Station – Shubhanshu will take off on a two-week Indo-US mission.
Commandeered by veteran US astronaut Peggy Whitson, the Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) mission will take off onboard SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, making Shubhanshu only the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma's iconic spaceflight onboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.
Shubhanshu is currently undergoing mandatory quarantine at the Kennedy Space Centre, and his family back at home is both excited and anxious about the mission, his parents Shambhu Dayal Shukla, a 73-year-old former civil servant, and Asha Shukla, 67, tell The Indian Express.
'We had been hearing about his space journey for a long time, and naturally, there were many questions that came to our minds. But there was no one we could turn to and ask what really happened up there and what he would be doing,' she says.
That anxiety was allayed after a dinner and a conversation with Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe, who happened to be in Lucknow, on May 9. Over the dinner that lasted 3-4 hours, Stibbe, who was part of the historic Axiom-1 (Ax-1) mission to the ISS in 2022, told them in great detail about his own space mission and encouraged the couple to ask him questions.
'He brought along a presentation he made for us,' Shubhanshu's 40-year-old sister Suchi says. 'Over dinner, he told in great detail how they lived, ate, and slept in space. He didn't speak about the challenges he faced. Instead, he told us about the beauty of the journey. His face shone with the happiness of having seen, achieved, and experienced so much.'
Shubhanshu's father Shambhu Dayal, who retired as a joint secretary in 2013 in Lucknow, adds: 'All our worries and doubts have now been put to rest. We are only praying for his safe journey'.
Born in Lucknow on October 10, 1985, Group Captain Shubhanshu is the last of three children and has three older siblings — Nidhi, 43, an MBA graduate and a homemaker and Suchi, a school teacher. He is also the first in his family to join the armed forces, with his family initially encouraging him to take up civil services.
From the premier National Defence Academy, Shubhanshu was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on June 17, 2006.
'I wanted to ask him to prepare for civil services after his Class 12 exams in 2002,' Shambhu says. 'But a friend of his decided to apply to the National Defence Academy (NDA). When he discovered that he was too old to qualify for the exam, he gave the form to Shubhanshu.'
Shubhanshu married his wife Kamna Shukla, a dentist, in 2009. Kamna is currently in Florida with the couple's six-year-old son to see the launch of the mission.
Over the years, Shubhanshu has served in various parts of the country — including Bhuj, Jodhpur, and Srinagar — and was in Bengaluru when his name was announced for the mission.
Those who know him describe Shubhanshu as 'not reserved but not one to talk to everyone'. 'He respects everyone but prefers to connect only with those he feels comfortable around,' his sister Suchi says.
Even as a child, he was 'very focused and very prompt when it came to his work,' his father Shambhu.
'He had very few close friends, mostly kept indoors and never went out alone to buy anything from the market, so it's unlikely that many people in the neighbourhood knew him well,' he says.
Indeed, in Triveni Nagar, not much is known about Shubhanshu.
'We only found out that Shubhanshu is from our area when we saw it on the news. After speaking to others, we got to know more about him. We had never seen him before and didn't even know he had cleared the NDA,' Rakesh Mishra, a resident of Triveni Nagar, says.
But at Shubhanshu's City Montessori School, it's a different story. His math teacher Nageshwar Prasad, 55, remembers him as a good student.
'Shubhanshu would give equal importance to sports and studies,' Prasad, who also taught Shubhanshu's wife Kamna, says.
Back at the Shuklas, the family says that while they are no longer anxious, they admit to feeling jittery as the date of the take-off approaches. Despite this, they know that their son is not one to stray away from challenges.
'We were initially scared when he said he wanted to join the armed forces. Then we were anxious when he said he would spend over a year training in Russia to become an astronaut, mainly because he's never one to ever go out anywhere alone. But he's adapted himself to challenges,' his proud mother Asha says.
While Shubhanshu's parents had initially planned to travel to Florida to see their son off, plans changed after his mother Asha developed severe spondylitis that made travel difficult. As a result, they take comfort in the little things – such as daily video calls and phone calls that he makes to assure them of his well-being.
'We now plan to hold a puja before his mission,' Shambhu says.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

IOSR brings out technical glossary for engineering education in Odia
IOSR brings out technical glossary for engineering education in Odia

New Indian Express

time39 minutes ago

  • New Indian Express

IOSR brings out technical glossary for engineering education in Odia

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Odia Studies & Research (IOSR) has prepared a glossary of 54,000 technical words in Odia which will be used in engineering education in the language. The first-of-its-kind glossary in a regional Indian language has been approved by the AICTE recently. Director of AICTE Sunil Kumar Luthra said the glossary would serve as a model for other states and would soon be uploaded to the e-Kumbh portal of AICTE from where students can download it. Odia researcher and chief coordinator of the translation initiative Subrat Prusty said most of the technical words used in engineering are of English, German, French and Latin origin and finding their regional translation is a difficult process. 'For example, the Hindi translation of computer is 'sanganak' and a few Odia students have started using it even if it is not an Odia word. This is why we have created a glossary of technical words which remain the same in both English and Odia languages, for easy understanding of the students. So, a computer will be written as computer in the Odia engineering book. In the absence of such a glossary, students usually use whatever translated words they pick up from search engines, which is wrong,' he said.

'Sky Is Not The Limit': Lucknow Celebrates As Shubhanshu Shukla Prepares To Script Space History
'Sky Is Not The Limit': Lucknow Celebrates As Shubhanshu Shukla Prepares To Script Space History

News18

time39 minutes ago

  • News18

'Sky Is Not The Limit': Lucknow Celebrates As Shubhanshu Shukla Prepares To Script Space History

Last Updated: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma and the first to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). As the final countdown begins at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, nearly 12,500 miles away, the narrow lanes of Lucknow's Aliganj locality are brimming with colour, pride, and prayers. The air at the house of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, set to visit the International Space Station (ISS), is electric. His house is wrapped in the Indian tricolour, its facade decked with larger-than-life posters, banners, and a life-size cutout of the astronaut himself. With every second ticking closer to his historic flight aboard the Axiom-4 mission, the family has turned to devotion — organising a Satyanarayan Katha, while neighbours light lamps and whisper silent prayers for his safe journey to the stars and back. Though the mission was initially scheduled for June 10, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has now confirmed that the launch has been rescheduled to June 11 due to technical and scheduling adjustments. Shubhanshu will now fly to space on Wednesday evening, bringing him one step closer to achieving the childhood dream he once shared with his family — of 'roaming among the stars." A Neighbourhood in Celebration Back home in Lucknow, this delay hasn't dampened the festive spirit. Neighbours and well-wishers have been arriving with flowers, offerings, and heartfelt wishes. His sisters personally arranged posters and banners bearing Shubhanshu's image and patriotic quotes. From rooftop to roadside, Aliganj looks like it's hosting its very own festival of the cosmos. Streets are strung with flags, children walk around with 'We are proud of you, Shubhanshu" badges, and the 20-feet hoardings flutter with patriotic slogans. Thematically styled in saffron, white, green, and Air Force blue, every corner echoes with emotion and excitement. Cutouts read, 'ALL THE BEST, GROUP CAPTAIN SHUX" and 'Shubhanshu Shukla Creates History." For the locals, it's not just a space mission — it's a neighbourhood's dream soaring into orbit. Beneath the celebration lies deep sentiment. 'He is not just a pilot going to space, he is our boy from the next lane," says a local shopkeeper. Children, when asked who Shubhanshu is, respond with pride, 'He's the one going to space tomorrow — and he's from our mohalla!" Prayers and Promises Inside the Shukla household, the atmosphere is more spiritual than celebratory. Shubhanshu's family has performed the Satyanarayan Katha, a traditional Hindu ritual for auspicious beginnings. His mother, visibly emotional, sat through the prayers holding a framed photo of her son in his flight suit. His sisters have adorned the home with cutouts, lights, and garlands, while neighbours have committed to holding special prayer gatherings on both June 10 and 11. 'This is not just a mission; it is the culmination of a child's lifelong dream," says Shubhanshu's elder sister, Shuchi Mishra. 'He would often say, 'One day I'll roam among the stars.' Now, that boy is about to do exactly that." India's Man in Space – Again Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma and the first to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). He is also the pilot of the prestigious Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) — a private mission conducted by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX. The mission is now scheduled for launch on June 11, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft — the Dragon capsule — will ferry four astronauts representing India, the US, Poland, and Hungary. A Mission Beyond Borders Shubhanshu is joined by Hungary's Tibor Kapu, Poland's Slawosz Uznanski, and American astronaut Peggy Whitson. All four are part of the 14-day research mission designed to carry out critical experiments in microgravity, including seven Indian scientific payloads and five from NASA. These studies will aid India's upcoming Gaganyaan program and contribute to global research in medicine, material science, and space technology. A Decorated Pilot's Journey Hailing from a modest background in Lucknow, Shubhanshu's academic journey began at City Montessori School in Aliganj. He later cleared the highly competitive NDA entrance exam and graduated from the National Defence Academy, which trains cadets for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Commissioned into the Indian Air Force on June 17, 2006, he rose through the ranks to become a Group Captain and a fighter test pilot. Over the years, he has logged more than 2,000 flying hours, commanding aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. His technical excellence, composure, and passion for aviation made him an ideal candidate for Ax-4. In his rehearsal on Sunday, wearing the full astronaut suit, Shubhanshu was seen following the launch protocols at the Kennedy Space Center. After the simulation, he remarked, 'It's been an incredible journey. These moments remind you that you're becoming part of something much bigger than yourself. I just feel grateful." Axiom and the New Frontier The Ax-4 mission is part of Axiom Space's broader vision to establish the world's first private commercial space station. Building on the success of its previous missions launched in April 2022, May 2023, and January 2024, this fourth mission marks another leap forward in the realm of commercial human spaceflight and international space cooperation. The scientific objectives of Ax-4 encompass a wide spectrum, including microgravity research across multiple disciplines, technology demonstrations in low-Earth orbit, the promotion of space education and public awareness, and the strengthening of multinational partnerships in space exploration. The International Space Station (ISS), where the Ax-4 crew will conduct their experiments, orbits the Earth at a speed of 28,000 km/h and completes a revolution every 90 minutes. This unique environment provides an unparalleled platform for research, and the findings from this mission are expected to significantly contribute to the future of both Indian and global space programs. A City's Pride, A Nation's Moment As the engines of Falcon 9 ignite and the rocket climbs into the sky, it will carry more than astronauts and experiments — it will carry the hopes of a family, the prayers of a neighbourhood, and the pride of a nation. Shubhanshu Shukla's journey from a quiet boy in Lucknow to the threshold of the stars is a reminder that no dream is too distant. As one banner in his lane says: 'We are proud of you, Shubhanshu. The sky is not the limit." Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : International Space Station nasa space mission Location : Lucknow, India, India First Published: June 10, 2025, 13:05 IST News india 'Sky Is Not The Limit': Lucknow Celebrates As Shubhanshu Shukla Prepares To Script Space History

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store