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United News of India
2 hours ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Shubhanshu Shukla accorded warm welcome at IGI by Dr Jitendra Singh, Delhi CM & ISRO chairman
New Delhi, Aug 17 (UNI) Astronaut Group Captain (IAF) Shubhanshu Shukla during early hours of Sunday was accorded a rousing welcome at Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital upon his return to the nation. Citizens carrying tricolor, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, along with others received Shukla at the airport in a bid to celebrate his return after the historic journey from space. Minister Singh taking to social media expressed, " A moment of pride for India! A moment of glory for ISRO! A moment of gratitude to the dispensation that facilitated this under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. India's Space Glory touches the Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, Shubhanshu Shukla lands at Delhi in the early hours of morning today." SIngh added, "Accompanying him, another equally accomplished Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, one of the astronauts selected for India's first Human mission Gaganyaan who was India's designated backup for the mission to the International Space Station. Privileged to receive both of them at the New Delhi Airport along with Delhi CM Smt. Rekha Gupta." People welcomed him with drums, flowers and hailed his achievement as a proud moment for the entire nation. Shukla, after concluding his historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS), returned to the planet in July. He is the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, who went on a space mission in 1984. Shukla's mission where he represented the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the learning from the same will contribute to the country's future space research and missions. Earlier while boarding the plane to India, taking to social media platform X, Shukla wrote, " As I sit on the plane to come back to India I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family for the past one year during this mission. I am also excited about meeting all my friends, family and everyone in the country for the first time post mission. I guess this is what life is - everything all at once. Having received incredible love and support from everyone during and after the mission I can't wait to come back to India to share my experiences with all of you." UNI APS GNK
NDTV
10-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla To Begin Return Journey To Earth On July 14: NASA
New Delhi: NASA has announced that the return journey for Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members will begin on July 14. "We are working with the station program, watching the Axiom-4 progress carefully. I think we need to undock that mission, and the current target to undock is July 14," Steve Stitch, Manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program, told a press conference. Group Captain Shukla is on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. He became the first Indian to visit the ISS and the second Indian astronaut after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who went to space in 1984. Group Captain Shukla did seven India-specific experiments, and the Axiom 4 or Mission 'Akash Ganga' is the first firm step for India's Gaganyaan human space flight mission. A splashdown is expected several hours after the undocking, near the coast of California in the Pacific Ocean.
Hindustan Times
25-06-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
SRK's hit song Yun Hi Chala Chal Rahi from Swades on Shubhanshu Shukla on space lift-off playlist
"We are very proud and emotional," says Shambhu Dayal Shukla, father of Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as his son became the second Indian to journey into space. Shubhanshu Shukla with other astronauts on Crew Dragon. (Inset) The #Ax4 crew share their launch-day playlist.(X/ISROSpaceflight & X/Axiom_Space) Shukla launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft with the Crew Dragon capsule as part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), lifting off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Adding a personal touch to his historic flight, the Indian Air Force test pilot's playlist during lift-off featured the beloved film song Yun Hi Chala Chal Rahi from the movie Swades, sung by Udit Narayan, Hariharan, and Kailash Kher, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music by AR Rahman. SpaceX shared this unique detail on X, alongside the playlists of other crew members: Mission Commander Peggy Whitson's Thunder by Imagine Dragons, Sławosz Uznański's Supermoce, and Tibor Kapu's Búvóhely. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's parents at City Montessori School, Lucknow(Photo: HT) Back in his hometown, City Montessori School in Lucknow became the focal point of local celebrations. Shukla's parents, Shambhu Dayal Shukla and Asha Shukla, alongside his sisters Nidhi and Suchi Shukla, joined a large gathering of students for a live telecast of the launch. The school hosted 'Vyomotsav', a watch-party that transformed the campus into a vibrant 'mini space centre', paying tribute to its illustrious alumnus. Shukla has done his schooling till Class XII from its Aliganj branch. Prof Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, school's president and manager said, 'From a curious young learner in our classrooms to a pioneering astronaut, Shux's story beautifully encapsulates our school's mission of 'Education for World Unity and Peace'.' School's founder-director Bharti Gandhi was also present on the occasion. Vyomotsav underway at City Montessori School(Photo: HT) Cheers erupted as the rocket ascended, followed by dancing and heartfelt congratulations, marking a proud moment for the city. The evening featured a live AXIOM mission broadcast, a replica of the ISS Cupola module, a 'Defy Gravity' photo booth, telescope viewings, and a simulated Mission Control Centre—making it part celebration, part science festival.
NDTV
19-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
SpaceX's Rocket Explosion Raises Safety Concerns Ahead Of Axiom-4 Mission
Elon Musk's commercial space flight company SpaceX suffered a major setback after its latest reusable rocket that was under development, the massive Starship, exploded on the launch pad, causing a huge fireball. Does the explosion put a question mark on the safety record and culture followed at SpaceX? On a separate rocket from a different space port, India's Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to fly to space no earlier than June 22. The rocket he will use is the Falcon-9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule. This rocket launch has been repeatedly delayed since it was first scheduled to be held on May 29. Group Captain Shukla will fly from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Incidentally a leak of liquid oxygen was reported on the Falcon-9 rocket by SpaceX itself and then Indian scientists stationed at the Kennedy Space Center, under the leadership of Dr V Narayanan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), had "insisted" on repairs and "validation", which incidentally SpaceX did carry out despite India's insistence. Subsequently, ISRO said "observations on Falcon-9 LOX (Liquid Oxygen) leak have been resolved by SpaceX". The Falcon-9 rocket has a 99.6% safety record in nearly 500 launches. Though it has had only 10 human space flights till date, all of which turned out to be a success. In a post on X on Wednesday, Space X said: "On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. Central Time, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase." SpaceX has neither released a video nor provided details to understand the intensity of the explosion but videos posted by independent observers showed a huge fireball and the entire launch pad covered by the blast. SpaceX said "a safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for". "Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue," it said on the micro-blogging site. The SpaceX Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket - collectively referred to as Starship - represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to the Earth's orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable. It is 123 meters high, almost 1.5 times the height of the Qutub Minar. Starship was first tested in 2023 and since then, five out of nine flights have resulted in failures. The latest failure took place when SpaceX was to conduct a further test of the rocket. All three tests carried out in 2025 have failed. Experts said the prevailing ideology at SpaceX is "fail fast, learn fast!" This SpaceX mishap comes on the back of Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia announcing on June 17 that he "had a productive meeting with Ms. Gwynne Shotwell, President & COO of SpaceX, on India's next frontier in connectivity". "We delved into opportunities for collaboration in satellite communications to power Digital India's soaring ambitions and empower every citizen across the country. With India's digital revolution under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji, satellite technologies are not just relevant, they're transformative. Ms Shotwell appreciated the license granted to Starlink, calling it a great start to the journey," he said. Mr Shotwell met several Indian space startups and also the Chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), India's space regulator, Dr Pawan K Goenka. Though it is not clear if any discussions on the reasons behind the repeated delays on the launch of the SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket standing tall at pad 39-A, which is to fly the Axiom-4 mission, or on the safety aspects of this specific rocket were at all raised in these meetings. Ms Shotwell on June 18 said "it was an honor to meet with Minister Scindia and hear his vision for expanding access to broadband internet. With our service licenses granted earlier this month, Starlink is one step closer to serving the great people of India." An American aerospace expert NDTV spoke to said that "while rocketry remains a challenging field, especially in test and development, we are entering an era of increased use and expectations". "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approach to oversight has learnt a lot of lessons in recent years from Boeing and earlier Southwest Airlines relationship failures. With rocketry, we increasingly need to differentiate between oversight of operations that are becoming routine (and which the global community has come to depend on) and those that are pushing the boundaries. Even proven, reliable platforms can run into catastrophic edge case failures," the expert said. Indian rocket experts' assertion for human space flight "safety first and safety always" is dictum. Incidentally, while India has had rocket failures, none have exploded on the launch pad. Science Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on June 18 said that "after assessing the key parameters, including Module Fitness, Crew Health, Weather etc... Axiom Space has indicated that 22 June 2025 may be the next likely launch date of Axiom-04 Mission carrying, among others, the Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, to the International Space Station. Further updates, if any, shall be shared accordingly."
