An Indian Returns to Space After 41 Years

“At this moment we are orbiting the earth at a speed of seven and a half kilometres per second and the tricolour flag is on my shoulder telling me that I am with all of you. This is not the beginning of my journey to the International Space Station. This is the beginning of India’s human space programme. I would like you, my fellow countrymen, be part of this journey. Your chest must also broaden with pride. You also must be as excited. Let us together begin this journey of India’s space programme. Thank You. Jai Hind. Jai Bharat.”

With these words, at an altitude of 199km above Earth in the spacecraft he was piloting at a speed of 27,000kmph, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla set off a moment in history for India. A second Indian had moved beyond the confines of Earth.

It took its time coming even up to the very end but no milestone is easy. When Shukla finally took off as the pilot of the Axiom 4 Mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12.01PM IST, it was after the launch was delayed seven times and every time the country held its breath. It was first scheduled for May 29 but an issue with the electrical harness (the wiring assembly) in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft came up. On the next date, June 8, the Falcon rocket that was to propel the spacecraft had preparation niggles.  On June 9, the weather played truant. On June 10, there was an issue again with the rocket, this time a liquid oxygen leak. On June 11, it was announced that the launch was postponed without a new date because NASA was now investigating a leak in one of the modules, Zvezda, of the International Space Station. June 19 was then announced but was shelved after NASA said the module was still being monitored. June 22 was then given but again postponed because NASA wanted more time to see if the ISS was functioning perfectly. And just when the anticipation began to give way to exasperation, suddenly it was announced on June 24 that the schedule would happen the next day. Finally, on June 25, it all went without a hitch.

On June 26, they will dock with the ISS and when that happens, Shukla will be the first Indian to ever step into it. Forty-one years ago Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma had become the first from the country to go into space as part of a Soviet Union mission. Shukla’s journey has a bigger import, because it is tied to India’s ambition to do a manned mission of its own, Gaganyaan, in 2027. Axiom is a private commercial company which uses the spacecraft of SpaceX, another company to provide services related to space. India, through the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), had purchased a seat for Shukla in their Axiom 4 mission in order to gain valuable experience that will be useful for Gaganyaan.

The Astronaut

It is not easy to become an astronaut. First one has to be in an elite shortlist and even after that it takes years of preparation. Shukla had the pedigree for it. Born in 1985, he became a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force in 2005 and notched up 2000 hours of flight experience. When ISRO was planning Gaganyaan, Shukla applied for it and was selected in 2019. He is one of four such astronauts  for the programme.

At a press conference held by Axiom a few weeks ago, he spoke about his journey to becoming an astronaut and how much Rakesh Sharm’s 1984 space flight had impacted him. He said, “I was born in 1985, so I was deeply inspired by his stories. We used to read about him in text books. But there wasn’t a possibility for me to be an astronaut because we did not have a human space program back then. I was also fascinated by fighter jets. I happened to witness an air show, and that just mesmerized me. So I took that path. I got into fighter flying and I’ve been flying a lot of years in my life. So when the opportunity presented itself in 2018, when it was announced by the Honorable Prime Minister on Independence Day, that we will soon launch an astronaut, an Indian astronaut, for the mission Gaganyaan, I don’t think that there was any deliberate thought from my side whether to apply or not. I think it was very instinctive. I applied for the program and am extremely grateful and fortunate to be here doing this as an outcome of that.”

Once selected, Shukla trained for a year at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Moscow, Russia. And for the Axiom Mission itself the astronauts were again in advanced training for a year, ranging from managing spacecraft operations, handling emergencies to being in simulated situations and conducting scientific experiments.  Sharma was a mentor to him as he prepared for the mission. He guided Shukla on how to meet some of the challenges that would confront him.  He said, “He’s also from the Indian Air Force, a test pilot like I am, so we share a lot of common things between us. And I think he understands very well the kind of challenges, the kind of preparation that we need for executing this mission. So it was great to have him on my side while I was navigating this journey.” Shukla is carrying something to honour Sharma to the ISS but would not reveal it. He will hand it over personally once he is back to maintain the surprise. He is also carrying other goodies, including Indian delicacies like moong dal halwa and carrot halwa to eat up there and share with the other astronauts.

Experiments  in ISS

Not just in sending an Indian astronaut, ISRO is also conducting experiments at the ISS that will assist in Gaganyaan. As a press release from NASA noted, “A collaboration between NASA and ISRO allowed Axiom Mission 4 to deliver on a commitment highlighted by President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO astronaut to the station. The space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations.”

Speaking before the launch, Axiom Space Chief Scientist Dr Lucie Low, gave an overview of the experiments, “ISRO has a very, very busy portfolio. So Shubs (as Shukla is called by his team) is going to be doing lots and lots of research throughout the mission. The team is going to be looking at cyanobacteria and microalgae and they’re going to be looking at how these could be used for food or for fuel or for potentially even life support systems on orbit in future. The team is also looking at muscle cells. They’re seeing how muscle cells respond to access to microgravity. When humans go into space there are physiological changes that happen very quickly that can impact the muscle cells. So the team is going to be looking at some of these changes to muscle cells in space and then applying that understanding not only as to developing countermeasures for future crew but also to take that learning and then understand more about diseases that might affect muscle wasting back here on earth.”

Lighting the Spark

Shukla is also carrying with him symbols and souvenirs created by National Institute of Design students, artefacts that will represent the spirit of India in space. He will be speaking  live with students, educators and the space industry. Beyond the Indian human space program, the biggest reward for Shukla’s journey will be in the spark that it lights in young Indians. India’s progress in space exploration is inevitable but it will need them to participate in it. As he said at that press conference, “If even one young believer is moved to explore the cosmos because of this mission, we will have already succeeded.”

Axiom 4 missionGaganyaanhuman space explorationIndian Air ForceIndian astronautInternational Space StationIsroNIDRakesh SharmaShubhanshu Shuklaspacespace experimentsspace mission IndiaSpaceX