Shubhanshu Shukla Soars as Second Astronaut Today
India is set to achieve a historic space milestone today as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla embarks on the Axiom-4 mission, becoming the nation’s second astronaut to venture into space, four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s landmark 1984 flight. The SpaceX Crew Dragon, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to lift off at 12:01 PM IST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a site famed for hosting the Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969.
After multiple delays, NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX have confirmed that weather conditions are 90% favorable for today’s launch. Shubhanshu Shukla, a skilled Indian Air Force pilot with over 2,000 hours of flight experience, will serve as the mission pilot. The Axiom-4 crew, led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, also includes mission specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, marking a significant return to human spaceflight for their respective countries.
The mission, destined for the International Space Station (ISS), will see the crew dock approximately 28 hours after launch, around 4:30 PM IST tomorrow, as per ISRO’s announcement. During their two-week stay, the team will conduct 60 scientific experiments, seven of which were proposed by Indian researchers. Shukla will also engage in a space-to-Earth outreach program, including a conversation with a prominent figure from space.
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Shukla, who has been in precautionary quarantine for over a month to ensure crew health, is among the elite astronauts training for India’s Gaganyaan mission, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2024. His participation in Axiom-4, also known as Mission Akash Ganga, underscores India’s growing prowess in space exploration. Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, emphasized the mission’s significance, noting that it reflects the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians and builds on ISRO’s legacy, from Chandrayaan-3 to Gaganyaan.