Phone felt heavy, dropped laptop: Shubhanshu Shukla on readjusting to life on earth
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Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
Intervention by Indian team helped fix key issue before Axiom-4 launch: ISRO chief
Weeks before it finally took off, the Axiom-4 mission, which carried Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), was nearly cleared for launch despite a perceived minor oxygen leak — until an ISRO team insisted on further checks that revealed a potentially dangerous crack in the rocket, ISRO Chairperson Dr V Narayanan told The Indian Express. The Axiom-4 mission took off for space from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25 after a series of delays since the initial launch date of May 29. The first launch was deferred to June 8 due to an electrical issue in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft — the module where the crew was seated. But on June 8, when the engines were test-fired on ground, an oxygen leak was observed in addition to an anomaly in one of the actuators, used in controlling the direction of the rocket's thrust. Dr Narayanan told The Indian Express that the oxygen leak was deemed minor and unlikely to affect the launch, but the Indian team — 18 scientists including the ISRO chairman and the director of the Human Space Flight Centre — embedded with the Axiom-4 and NASA teams felt something was amiss and pushed for further checks. 'Initially the team thought that there was a minor leak and the mission could proceed as planned. But, the Indian team insisted that proper checks be carried out even if it meant delaying the mission. And it was good that the tests were carried out because a crack was detected, allowing for repair. It was resolved before the mission took off,' Dr Narayanan said. The crack was in the oxidiser line, which carries liquid oxygen to power the rocket — a serious safety risk, especially for a crewed mission. The crack and other issues were fixed, but on June 12 NASA announced it was working with Russian space agency Roscosmos to evaluate a leak in the Zvezda module, the Russian-built service module of the ISS that houses key life-support and docking systems. This further delayed the mission until the final launch two weeks. During the mission, the Indian team was present at both Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral where launch operations took place and at mission control in Houston, Texas, where real-time flight operations are managed — from crew health monitoring and communications to emergency response. Dr Narayanan described the mission as a significant step forward for ISRO's human spaceflight programme, with astronaut training emerging as its single most valuable takeaway. He said Indian scientists got hands-on exposure to how crewed missions are run — from making real-time decisions and interpreting telemetry data to monitoring astronaut health and responding to in-flight contingencies. 'It was like a classroom where we learnt a lot by working with the other teams there,' he said. 'The experience was important for understanding how human space missions are run at an operational level… The training of the astronaut — especially with someone as experienced as the commander — was a big learning experience for the Indian team.' Axiom-4 commander Peggy Whitson, a veteran astronaut, holds the record for the most number of days spent in space by an American or a woman — 695 days across multiple missions. India plans to build a sustained human spaceflight programme, with a space station targeted by 2035 and a human Moon mission by 2040. This will require setting up a permanent astronaut corps and regularly training new astronauts, like NASA and Roscosmos do. In addition to the training, Dr Narayanan said Shukla's experience of living in microgravity, staying in an isolated environment and returning to Earth would be invaluable for India's own programme. ISRO has asked Shukla to document his entire experience in detail. 'This,' Dr Narayanan said, 'would become teaching material for his fellow astronauts as well as the other astronauts to come.' Shukla, who returned to Earth with a splashdown on July 15, is currently undergoing reconditioning in the United States. He is expected to remain in quarantine until the first week of August, after which he will participate in a debriefing with NASA and return home by mid-August.
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Business Standard
13 hours ago
- Business Standard
In-space industry set to unlock multi-billion dollar mkt in manufacturing
In-space manufacturing uses the near-weightless environment of space to produce materials and products of superior quality Shine Jacob Chennai Listen to This Article When millions in India were watching what astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla was doing aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in July, they would have noticed him seemingly tinkering with the contents of an enclosed glass box. Shukla was carrying out operations for research on how microgravity shapes muscle atrophy. Such research could result in findings that help people suffering from age-related muscle decline or limited mobility. Shukla, on behalf of Indian researchers, carried out experimental tests on muscle stem cells, sprouting methi and moong seeds, and whether microalgae can be used to produce food, oxygen and biofuels. His work put the
NDTV
16 hours ago
- NDTV
"Oneness": Shubhanshu Shukla's "Borderless" View Of Earth From Space
New Delhi: When Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla looked out of the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time, he saw something that no textbook, simulator, or training module could have prepared him for. The Earth, vast and radiant, floated beneath him-without borders, without divisions. "It seems that the whole Earth is our home," he said, reflecting on the profound shift in perspective that space travel had gifted him. "You don't see any border, any boundary line. Humanity has always been and is living here. I feel a sense of oneness". This sense of planetary unity, deeply rooted in India's ancient philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -- the world is one family -- became a central theme of Mr Shukla's reflections. "The motto of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam in our culture, you can understand it very easily when you look at the Earth from the outside," he said. "It was not what I had in mind, but the one thing that stood out for me was the oneness of the planet, which we call home". Mr Shukla's journey aboard the Axiom-4 mission, also known as Mission Akash Ganga, marked India's return to human spaceflight after four decades. He became the first Indian to visit the ISS and only the second Indian astronaut after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's 1984 Indo-Soviet mission. But this time, India wasn't hitching a ride -- it was participating on a commercial mission. "After 41 years, an Indian returned to space. But this time, it wasn't a solitary leap. It was the beginning of what I like to call India's second orbit," Mr Shukla told NDTV. The mission, brokered by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX, cost India nearly $70 million. Yet Mr Shukla was unequivocal about its value. "This mission has been very successful and will be very beneficial for our human space mission," he said, referring to India's upcoming indigenous human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan. In his first public interaction after returning from the 20-day mission, Mr Shukla described the experience as transformative. "The mission itself exceeded every one of my expectations. But nothing, literally nothing, could have prepared me for what came after," he said. "The love, the messages, and the support from every corner of Bharat... it filled me with something which I did not expect. A new kind of purpose". Mr Shukla's conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi from space was a defining moment. With the Indian flag fluttering behind him, he told the Prime Minister, "I travel to space with the dreams of a billion hearts with me. I want them to live this journey with me because I feel that it is equally theirs as it is mine. Because I feel that this is truly the journey of an entire nation". Mr Shukla's reflections also touched on the physical and psychological adaptations required for space travel. "Understanding how your body reacts to the microgravity and the environment of space added on to the completeness of the entire training," he said. His readiness for future missions was evident. "There is a properly incubated rehabilitation and recuperation programme," he explained. "And step by step, you gain your strength and your balance. I feel perfectly normal. It feels as if I am ready to go on the space mission again". As India prepares for Gaganyaan, Mr Shukla's experience is expected to shape astronaut training, mission protocols, and public engagement. "No States, No Countries -- Only Humanity" are Mr Shukla's reflections from space, echoing India's universal value "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam".
