Dragon with Shukla, 3 others to dock with ISS at 4.30 pm today

After a 28-hour journey through space, the Dragon spacecraft will dock with the International Space Station around 4.30 pm India time Thursday, allowing the four astronauts to transfer to the only permanent research laboratory in space where they will spend the next two weeks, carrying out scientific experiments and engaging in science outreach events.

Shukla’s feat comes 41 years after Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma — he later retired as Wing Commander — travelled to space on the then Soviet Union’s Soyuz T-11 spacecraft and spent about eight days on board the Salyut 7 space station, one of the Soviet forerunners to the current International Space Station.

Two other astronauts on the Axiom-4 mission, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, are also marking the return of their respective countries to space after more than four decades. For this reason, the mission has been given the  theme ‘Realize the Return’. The fourth astronaut, and  commander of the mission, Peggy Whitson is a veteran of space travel, having made four earlier trips, with a record 675 days in space.

“What a ride. After 40 years, we are back in space. What a flight this is,” said Shukla in a short statement, 10 minutes after the launch, immediately after the spacecraft had separated from the rocket and entered an orbit around the Earth.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others lifts off from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida, USA. (@SpaceX via PTI Photo)

“Right now, we are going around the Earth at the speed of 7.5 km a second. On my shoulders is the Tiranga (Tricolour) that is telling me that I am not alone here, all of you are with me. This journey to the International Space Station is not my alone, this is the beginning of Bharat’s human spaceflight programme,” Shukla said, addressing his countrymen in Hindi.

“I would like each one of you to become a part of this journey. You should also feel proud, you should also feel the excitement. Come, let us together mark the beginning of India’s human spaceflight programme. Thank you. Jai Hind. Jai Bharat,” he said. Other astronauts also made similar statements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X after the liftoff, said, “We welcome the successful launch of the Space Mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the US. 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. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!”

The Axiom-4 mission, originally scheduled to launch in May, faced multiple delays because of weather and technical problems. A small uncertainty hung over the launch Wednesday as well, even after the astronauts had entered the capsule, as some updated data took time to get uploaded to the spacecraft’s software. Shukla was seen shuffling and shaking his legs as he waited, and exulted mildly when the all-clear was announced.

ISRO chairman V Narayanan who, along with a ISRO team, had been in the US since the start of this month for the launch, said he was extremely happy that the mission had finally launched after all technical problems had been addressed.

“Today, we were 100% sure about the safety of not just our own astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, but the other three brothers and sister who are going to space with him. Congratulations to all,” Narayanan told The Indian Express from the US.

He said that he personally, and the team from ISRO, had been involved in the troubleshooting exercises, and had made sure that everything was fine ahead of the launch. “If I had even 0.1% doubt, I would not have said OK to the launch,” he said.

Narayanan said the spacecraft had entered a 200-km orbit, which will be raised to about 425 km over the 28-hour period before the docking takes place. The ISRO team would be travelling from the Florida launch centre to Houston, Texas to witness the docking from the command centre.

Shukla was among four IAF pilots selected for the Gaganyaan programme, ISRO’s maiden attempt at sending humans into space. The first human spaceflight mission under this programme was originally scheduled for 2022 to coincide with 75 years of India’s independence. But the programme has faced delays, and it is now expected to take place in 2027.

In the meanwhile, a new collaboration between ISRO and NASA in 2023 opened the opportunity for an Indian to travel on a private mission facilitated by NASA. This is how Shukla’s participation in the Axiom-4 mission came about.

The liftoff was greeted with loud cheers and clapping at the auditorium of the CSIR headquarters in New Delhi where Science Minister Jitendra Singh and many scientists and dignitaries, including Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green, had gathered to watch the launch on video.

“This was destined to happen under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. And I am saying so because the space reforms which happened a couple of years ago have given a quantum leap to India’s endeavours. Imagine, ISRO was set up in the year 1969, when NASA accomplished the landing of the first human on the Moon. Today, we have landed near the southern pole of the Moon before anyone else. And we are now collaborating with NASA as an equal partner. India is no longer a follower,” Singh said.

The Axiom-4 mission is being operated and managed by Axiom Space, a private US space company. The Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft used in the mission have come from SpaceX, the world’s largest private space corporation. NASA offered access to its facilities, including the International Space Station, and training to the astronauts.