Startups, academia cheer Shukla

Delay and big cheers

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Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla lifted off aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft from NASA ’s Kennedy Space Center at 12:01 pm Wednesday, achieving the rare feat of being only the second Indian to journey to space after Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984.On the 14-day trip for the Axiom mission (Ax-4), the four-member crew including NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments representing 31 countries aboard the International Space Station (ISS).“Namaskar, my dear countrymen! What a ride! We are back in space once again after 41 years. It’s an amazing ride,” were the first thoughts shared by Shukla from the Dragon space capsule. He will serve as the pilot on the mission.Lucknow-born Shukla said his journey is not the beginning of India’s journey to the ISS but the country’s pivot to its human space programme.The Ax-4 mission will provide valuable operational experience for India ahead of its maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, which aims to carry a three-member crew to low-earth orbit. The Indian Space Research Organisation ( Isro ) mission is scheduled for 2027, followed by Bhartiya Antriksh Station by 2035, and a planned human moon landing by 2040.Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shukla and wished the mission success.“The Indian astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is on the way to become the first Indian to go to the International Space Station. He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians,” the PM wrote on X.Shukla, along with his crew, is scheduled to dock at ISS’s Harmony module in low-earth orbit at 4:30 pm India time on Thursday. The journey from launch to docking is estimated to take 28 to 29 hours.In a statement, NASA said the collaboration with Isro enabled Ax-4 to fulfill a commitment made by US President Donald Trump and PM Modi to send the first Isro astronaut to ISS. The two leaders had made the announcement during their summit in February, seeking to broaden civil space cooperation.“The space agencies are participating in five joint scientific investigations and two in-orbit STEM demonstrations,” the US space agency said. “NASA and Isro share a long-standing relationship rooted in a common vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration.”The launch was delayed several times over the last one month due to issues in the electrical harness in the Crew Dragon Module, unpreparedness of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, unfavourable weather conditions, and oxygen leakage in the engine bay of the ISS.On Wednesday, too, engineers at SpaceX resolved a critical issue involving the uploading of real-time wind data, which is necessary to enable the Launch Escape System. Just T-minus 35 minutes before the take-off, the data upload was successfully confirmed.Back home, space-tech startups and academia cheered Shukla’s journey, hoping for a sustained human space exploration programme that can open new avenues for research and commercial space flights.“Seeing an Indian in orbit will add an ‘Indian flavour’ to low earth orbit for all of us here. Space will become more relatable in an intangible way,” said Srinath Ravichandran, cofounder of AgniKul Cosmos.Industry body Indian Space Association (ISpA) said the success of the mission will push more companies and startups to build world-class technology in India.“India is now in the final stages of preparation for the Gaganyaan mission , with firms like Larsen & Toubro, Tata and Ananth Technologies playing a critical role alongside our vibrant startups,” said Lt Gen AK Bhatt (retd), Director General, ISpA.