Latest news with #Indo-Soviet
The Print
4 hours ago
- Science
- The Print
Space travel alters world view… planet Earth belongs to everyone: Rakesh Sharma
Sharma had spent eight days in orbit in the erstwhile Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984. He shared his thoughts in a recorded podcast shared by the Ministry of Defence on the day India returned to space after 41 years, as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from India and three other astronauts set forth on a landmark space odyssey on Wednesday. New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) Astronaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to journey into space in 1984, said space travel alters the mindset of humans and makes them see the world from a perspective that 'this planet belongs to everyone' and is not the sole preserve of anyone. Shukla scripted history by embarking on space travel, along with three others from the US, Poland and Hungary, to the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space. In the podcast released Wednesday night, Sharma, who had famously said, 'Sare Jehan Se Acha…' during his time in the orbit, said he was a test pilot in the Indian Air Force when the selection happened. He later retired as wing commander from the IAF. 'Because I was a test pilot when the selection happened.. that time, I was young, I was fit, and I had the qualification, so I was lucky enough to have been chosen. Then, after selection, we moved to Star City, just outside Moscow, for our training. 'The training went on for 18 months, which culminated in the Indo-Soviet spaceflight in 1984. It was an eight-day mission, and we carried out experiments which were designed by Indian scientists,' he said. Sharma recalled that the entire training, and communication with crew members and mission control while they were in orbit, was in Russian. 'We had to learn the language before we started training, and that was not easy because of the paucity of time. So, we took about two months to learn the language,' he said. While the Indo-Soviet spaceflight took place in an analogue era when very few owned a television, the Axiom-4 mission lift-off was watched by people on TV screens and mobile phones live across the globe. After multiple delays, Elon Musk's SpaceX launch vehicle with Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon-9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:01 pm (IST) carrying mission pilot Shukla, former NASA astronaut Commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland. 'Kamaal ki ride thi (It was an amazing ride),' Shukla said 10 minutes after the Dragon spacecraft was placed in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 200 km as part of the Axiom Mission 4(Ax-4). In the podcast, Sharma, when asked how he felt watching the world and India from space, exclaimed, 'Oh dear! Beautiful.' 'In our country, we got everything: we got a long coastline, we got the ghats section, we got plains, we got tropical forests, we got mountains, Himalayas. It's a beautiful sight, different colours, different textures,' he said. Sharma said in space, days and nights are very unusual, as sunrises and sunsets happen at an interval of just 45 minutes. He said while space travel technology has changed, 'as humans, we haven't changed much'. 'The mental impact will always be there because humans will be able to get a different perspective. It does kind of alter the world view… (shows) the vast place in universe,' the veteran astronaut said. It changes the mindset, he emphasised. The IAF, in a post on X, said Shukla has set forth on a landmark space mission, carrying the pride of the nation beyond Earth. It also said, 'This is a dèjà-vu moment for India, 41 years after the mission of Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, who first carried our Tricolour beyond Earth. Being more than a mission – it is a reaffirmation of India's ever-expanding horizon.' Asked about the future of Indian space travel, Sharma said, 'We will be going farther and farther from planet Earth.' 'We really need to preserve what we have, which means we need to end conflicts, we need to forget about our weapons….this planet belongs to everyone, it is not a sole preserve,' he underlined. Sharma added that space exploration will 'keep marching ahead'. 'I am hoping that India will be a modern leader in the years to come, and India will succeed in its (space) mission, which I am quite confident we will,' he said. Sharma said after his return from the mission, he went back to the Indian Air Force. 'And after few years, I moved to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as their chief test pilot,' he said, and recalled his association with the evolution of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas'. PTI KND AMJ SKY SKY This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- Science
- The Hindu
‘Space travel alters worldview, Earth belongs to everyone,' says Rakesh Sharma as Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission makes history for India
Astronaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to journey into space in 1984, said that space travel alters the mindset of humans, making them see the world from a perspective where "this planet belongs to everyone" and is not the sole preserve of anyone. He shared his thoughts in a recorded podcast shared by the Ministry of Defence on the day India returned to space after 41 years, as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from India and three other astronauts set forth on a landmark space odyssey on Wednesday (June 25, 2025). Mr. Sharma had spent eight days in orbit in the erstwhile Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984. Mr. Shukla scripted history by embarking on a space travel mission, along with three others from the U.S., Poland, and Hungary, to the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space. Sharma recollects historic flight In the podcast released Wednesday night, Mr. Sharma, who had famously said, 'Sare Jehan Se Acha...' during his time in the orbit, said he was a test pilot in the Indian Air Force when the selection happened. He later retired as wing commander from the IAF. "Because I was a test pilot when the selection happened.. that time, I was young, I was fit, and I had the qualification, so I was lucky enough to have been chosen. Then, after selection, we moved to Star City, just outside Moscow, for our training. Qualified cheer: The Hindu editorial on Shubhanshu Shukla, Axiom-4 mission "The training went on for 18 months, which culminated in the Indo-Soviet spaceflight in 1984. It was an eight-day mission, and we carried out experiments which were designed by Indian scientists," he said. Mr. Sharma recalled that the entire training and communication with crew members and mission control while they were in orbit was in Russian. "We had to learn the language before we started training, and that was not easy because of the paucity of time. So, we took about two months to learn the language," he said. Different era While the Indo-Soviet spaceflight took place in an analogue era when very few owned a television, the Axiom-4 mission lift-off was watched by people on TV screens and mobile phones live across the globe. After multiple delays, Elon Musk's SpaceX launch vehicle with Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon-9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:01 pm (IST) carrying mission pilot Shukla, former NASA astronaut Commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland. "Kamaal ki ride thi (It was an amazing ride)," Mr. Shukla said 10 minutes after the Dragon spacecraft was placed in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 200 km as part of the Axiom Mission 4(Ax-4). In the podcast, Mr. Sharma, when asked how he felt watching the world and India from space, exclaimed, "Oh dear! Beautiful." "In our country, we got everything: we got a long coastline, we got the ghats section, we got plains, we got tropical forests, we got mountains, Himalayas. It's a beautiful sight, different colours, different textures," he said. Mr. Sharma said in space, days and nights are very unusual, as sunrises and sunsets happen at an interval of just 45 minutes. Mental impact He said while space travel technology has changed, "as humans, we haven't changed much". "The mental impact will always be there because humans will be able to get a different perspective. It does kind of alter the world view... (shows) the vast place in universe," the veteran astronaut said. It changes the mindset, he emphasised. The IAF, in a post on X, said Mr. Shukla has set forth on a landmark space mission, carrying the pride of the nation beyond Earth. It also said, "This is a dèjà-vu moment for India, 41 years after the mission of Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, who first carried our Tricolour beyond Earth. Being more than a mission - it is a reaffirmation of India's ever-expanding horizon." Future of space travel Asked about the future of Indian space travel, Mr. Sharma said, "We will be going farther and farther from planet Earth." "We really need to preserve what we have, which means we need to end conflicts, we need to forget about our planet belongs to everyone, it is not a sole preserve," he underlined. Mr. Sharma added that space exploration will "keep marching ahead". "I am hoping that India will be a modern leader in the years to come, and India will succeed in its (space) mission, which I am quite confident we will," he said. Mr. Sharma said after his return from the mission, he went back to the Indian Air Force. "And after few years, I moved to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as their chief test pilot," he said, and recalled his association with the evolution of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas'.
The Print
12 hours ago
- Science
- The Print
Space travel alters world view, helps to understand value of planet Earth, says Rakesh Sharma
Sharma had spent eight days in orbit in the erstwhile Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984. He shared his thoughts in a recorded podcast shared by the Ministry of Defence on a day India returned to space after 41 years, as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from India and three other astronauts set forth on a landmark space odyssey on Wednesday. New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) Astronaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to journey into space in 1984, says space travel alters the mindset of humans and makes them see the world from a perspective that 'this planet belongs to everyone' and not a sole preserve of anyone. Shukla scripted history by embarking on space travel, along with three others from the US, Poland and Hungary, to the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space. In the podcast released tonight, Sharma, who had famously said, 'Sare Jehan se Acha…' during his time in the orbit, said he was a test pilot in the Indian Air Force when the selection happened. He later retired as wing commander from the IAF. 'Because I was a test pilot when the selection happened.. that time, I was young, I was fit, and I had the qualification, so I was lucky enough to have been chosen. Then, after selection, we moved to Star City, just outside Moscow, for our training. The training went on for 18 months, which culminated into the Indo-Soviet spaceflight in 1984. It was an eight-day mission, and we carried out experiments which were designed by Indian scientists,' he said. Sharma recalled that the entire training, and communication with crew members and mission control while they were in orbit, was in Russian. 'We had to learn the language before we started training, and that was not easy because of paucity of time. So, we took about two months to learn the language,' he said. While the Indo-Soviet spaceflight took place in an analogue era when very few owned a television, the Axiom-4 mission lift-off was watched by people on TV screens and mobile phones live across the globe. After multiple delays, Elon Musk's SpaceX launch vehicle with Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon-9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:01 pm (IST) carrying mission pilot Shukla, former NASA astronaut Commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland. 'Kamaal ki ride thi (It was an amazing ride),' Shukla said 10 minutes after the Dragon spacecraft was placed in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 200 km as part of the Axiom Mission 4(Ax-4). In the podcast, Sharma, when asked how he felt watching the world and India from space, exclaimed, 'Oh dear! Beautiful.' 'In our country, we got everything: we got a long coastline, we got the ghats section, we got plains, we got tropical forests, we got mountains, Himalayas. It's a beautiful sight, different colours, different textures,' he said. Sharma said in space, days and nights are very unusual, as sunrises and sunsets happen at an interval of just 45 minutes. He said while space travel technology has changed, 'as humans we haven't changed much'. 'The mental impact will always be there because humans will be able to get a different perspective. It does kind of alter the world view… (shows) the vast place in universe,' the veteran astronaut said. It changes the mindset, he emphasised. The IAF, in a post on X, said Shukla has set forth on a landmark space mission, carrying the pride of the nation beyond Earth. It also said, 'This is a dèjà-vu moment for India, 41 years after the mission of Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, who first carried our Tricolour beyond Earth. Being more than a mission – it is reaffirmation of India's ever-expanding horizon.' Asked about the future of Indian space travel, Sharma said, 'We will be going farther and farther from planet Earth.' 'We really need to preserve what we have, which means we need to end conflicts, we need to forget about our weapons….this planet belongs to everyone, it is not a sole preserve,' he underlined. On a more generic note, Sharma said space exploration will 'keep marching ahead'. 'I am hoping that India will be a modern leader in the years to come, and India will succeed in its (space) mission, which I am quite confident we will,' he said. Sharma said after his return from the mission, he went back to the Indian Air Force. 'And after few years, I moved to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as their chief test pilot,' he said, and recalled his association with the evolution of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas'. PTI KND AMJ AMJ This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
India.com
3 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Pakistan would have completely destroyed in 10 days, US asked Iran and China's help in war against India, the plan was...
(File) US President Donald Trump has claimed that 'monumental damage' was inflicted upon nuclear sites in Iran and stressed that 'obliteration is an accurate term'. He cited satellite images released of the nuclear sites to mention the damage caused to a statement shared on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated, 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' remarks come a day after the US launched Operation Midnight Hammer and conducted 'precision strikes' at three of Iran's key nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Going by the media reports, there was a time when the United States and Iran were allies, particularly during the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. As reported by The Indian Express, recently declassified U.S. State Department documents indicate that on December 9, 1971, the high-level meeting chaired by then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger took place in Washington. At that time, India was launching heavy airstrikes against Pakistan's Karachi port, destroying West Pakistan's fuel and vital supplies, which had a significant impact on the performance of the Pakistani military. At the meeting, CIA Director Richard Helms announced that 12 to 13 strikes had been conducted on Karachi's oil storage tanks, which destroyed 80% of Pakistan's fuel supply leaving Pakistan with fuel for only two weeks. Kissinger wanted to know if fuel could be moved from Tehran. Kissinger and U.S. government officials also talked about possible plans to move fuel from Iran, send Iranian fighter jets and pilots to Pakistan, and getting China to move troops on the Indian border as a means of threatening India militarily. On December 8, 1971, U.S. officials met with Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and asked for his support for Pakistan. The Shah made it clear that he would not support Pakistan due to the Indo-Soviet treaty because that would lead to a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union. He had a second option, Johnson suggested by way of precluding, that Jordan could fly F-104s to Pakistan and in exchange Iran would fly its aircraft in Jordanian airspace as air cover for Jordan. But that idea also failed because of the prohibition of the U.S. law. U.S. defense officials thought Pakistani forces in East Pakistan were totally cut off and could be completely wiped out within 10 to 15 days. The situation in West Pakistan was also extremely tenuous. Had India delayed the war, Pakistan's military and economy may have completely collapsed. To apply pressure to India, President Nixon and Henry Kissinger's first focus was to attempt to entice the Chinese to do something militarily near the Indian border. The second option was to deploy the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet to the Bay of Bengal. Nixon even noted that Chinese forces moving to the Indian border would scare Indian soldiers.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
"Stepping stone for Gaganyaan": Retd Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra on Axiom-4 mission
With Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla set to become the second Indian to travel to space, Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra (retd), who was closely associated with the 1984 Indo-Soviet space mission and trained as an astronaut, has said that the upcoming launch is a crucial milestone in the journey for India's ambitious Gaganyaan mission. Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra, who was selected along with Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma for India's first space mission and was his backup, told in an interview that Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla's journey to the International Space Station (ISS) inspires 1.4 billion Indians. Gaganyaan, India's first human spaceflight mission, is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2027. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. During an interview with ANI on Monday, the Retd Air Commodore affirmed confidence in Indian astronaut Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla, who is part of the four-member crew that will be travelling to the space station. Group Captain Shukla is set to become the second Indian to travel to space and the first to visit the ISS. Live Events Air Commodore Malhotra stated that Group Captain Shukla had to undergo rigorous training for over two years, beginning in Russia at the renowned Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories "They have been training for almost two years now. They had their training in Russia... After that, he (Group Captain Shukla) had gone to the US and had been trained along with the other three cosmonauts (who are part of the crew)," he said. "This is certainly a stepping stone for our own Gaganyan mission. I believe in the next year or 2027, the Gaganyan mission will take place... And both Sudhanshu Shukla and the standby astronaut, the training they got in the US, will be an additional win for our flight when it takes place," Air Commodore (Retd) Malhotra added. The space veteran added that Group Captain Shukla's extensive preparation has now positioned him as ready for the mission, carrying the hopes of 1.4 billion Indians. "He had trained for a long time and was now ready to go up... We wish him Godspeed... He carries with him the inspiration for 1.4 billion Indians." Highlighting Group Captain Shukla's critical role in the mission, the Air Commodore explained that the Indian astronaut will serve as the co-pilot alongside the senior American astronaut, Peggy Whitson, who will be leading the mission. "There is one senior American astronaut. He (Shukla) is the number two... He will be flying the spaceship to dock with the International Space Station and going there to carry out experiments," he noted. Describing the technical aspects that Group Captain Shukla will encounter during the mission, Air Commodore Malhotra said that he will be assisting Whitson with the docking of the spacecraft if anything happens to the automatic docking system. "He is like the captain or the co-pilot. He is going to be there assisting the senior astronaut with docking (the ship)... The docking happens on an automatic basis. The whole system is automated. Should anything happen, then the pilot takes up the manual docking. So they train for that," he added. He emphasised that additional training for manual docking ensures the crew is prepared for any contingency. Reflecting on the overall progress in the evolution of the space training and India's capabilities in the field over the past four decades, the Retd Air Commodore noted, "There have been a lot of improvements in the past 40-45 odd years when we did our training... They received a whole gamut of training, and now they are ready for the launch." The launch of the Axiom-4 mission features astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary--each embarking on their first-ever mission to the ISS. This also marks the second government-sponsored human spaceflight in over four decades for each of these countries. The mission is a major milestone in the Indian Space Research Organisation's collaboration with NASA through Axiom Space. The mission, which was scheduled to be launched on June 10, has been rescheduled to June 11 due to unfavourable weather conditions, as per ISRO. Joining the mission are Slawosz Uznanski of Poland, a European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. Uznanski will be Poland's second astronaut since 1978, while Kapu will be Hungary's second since 1980. Veteran American astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the mission, adding to her record for the longest cumulative time spent in space by any American.
