INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: Indian Air Force Group Captain and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is poised to make history today as the Axiom-4 mission, on which he serves as pilot, prepares for its highly anticipated docking with the International Space Station (ISS). The successful lift-off on June 25 onboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, after nearly a month of frustrating delays, has set the stage for this momentous event for India’s burgeoning space ambitions.
Group Captain Shukla’s journey marks a significant milestone, making him the first Indian to visit the orbiting laboratory and only the second Indian to venture into space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984. His participation in Axiom-4, a private commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA, is also seen as a crucial step for India’s own Human Spaceflight Programme, Gaganyaan.
The Dragon spacecraft, named ‘Grace’, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying a four-member crew. Besides Shukla, the crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson (USA), and Mission Specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). The docking with the ISS’s Harmony module is scheduled for 4:30 PM IST today, following a journey of approximately 28 hours.
Once aboard the ISS, the crew is slated for a busy two-week mission, focusing on a multitude of scientific experiments. Group Captain Shukla himself will be involved in around seven experiments, including studies on the cognitive effects of screen use, microbial adaptation, muscle atrophy, and the resilience of crop seeds in microgravity – research critical for understanding space’s impact on biology and for future space farming.
The successful launch and imminent docking have been met with immense pride in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi extending his wishes and noting that Group Captain Shukla carries the hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. This mission underscores India’s growing role in international space collaboration and its firm resolve to become a significant player in human space exploration.
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