New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shared details on Monday about how the public can watch the launch of India’s Gaganyatri mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
In a post on X, ISRO announced, “ISRO-NASA Mission to ISS—India heads to the International Space Station! Join the YouTube LIVE on June 10, 3:45 PM IST — liftoff at 5:52 PM!” The live telecast can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/live/J1xfppWABZo.
Ahead of the launch, Axiom Space released a video message featuring Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who expressed his excitement about the mission. The video highlighted his 15 years as a fighter pilot and praised his technological expertise.
In his message, Group Captain Shukla said, “Namaste. I’m Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. The first Indian astronaut, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, traveled to space in 1984. I grew up reading about him in textbooks and listening to his stories from space. I was deeply, deeply impressed by him.
“This journey that I’m on has been a long one for me. It started out somewhere—I didn’t know this was the path it would finally take. I have been extremely fortunate and lucky to have had the opportunity to fly all my life, which was a dream job for me, and then have the chance to apply to the astronaut core and now be here.
“The way this worked out for me was that probably a week before we arrived at Axiom was when I found out I would be going. I was extremely excited to be here. I was very, very happy because this was a real possibility for me to actually fly to space. You don’t know how to respond to such things.”
Group Captain Shukla is part of Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4), marking a historic milestone for India’s space collaboration with NASA.
According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” of human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While this is the second human spaceflight mission in history for these countries, it will be the first time all three will execute a mission aboard the ISS.
This historic mission highlights how Axiom Space is redefining access to low-Earth orbit and elevating national space programs globally.
The Ax-4 crew includes members from India, Poland, and Hungary, each marking their nation’s first mission to the space station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years.
Shubhanshu Shukla will be India’s second national astronaut to go to space since 1984.
Slawosz Uznanski, a European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut, will be the second Polish astronaut since 1978.
Tibor Kapu will be the second national Hungarian astronaut since 1980.
Peggy Whitson will command her second commercial human spaceflight mission, adding to her record as the American astronaut with the longest cumulative time in space.
His crewmate, Tibor Kapu, said of Shukla, “Shuk’s wisdom, the knowledge that he possesses, he could be 130 years old.”
Peggy Whitson praised him, saying, “For me, having him as my pilot in the Dragon capsule is great. He already has that operational savvy. He’s just wicked smart when it comes to spacecraft technologies.”
Slawosz Uznanski said, “He is very focused and he will basically go one, two, three, four in record time. I don’t even know how he gets there so fast.”
Describing his team, Group Captain Shukla added, “The team that I’m flying with on this mission is fantastic. I do feel that I have exceptional crewmates. I will have these crew members for this one flight, but post this mission, these are going to be my friends for life.
“It has been an amazing journey. These are moments that really tell you that you are getting to be a part of something much larger than yourself. I can only say how extremely fortunate I am to be a part of this.
“It is my sincere endeavor through my mission to inspire an entire generation back home in the country. I want to use this opportunity to ignite curiosity among kids. Even if this story, my story, is able to change one life, it would be a huge success for me.
“I’m Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, and I am the mission pilot for the Axiom 4 mission.”
On June 8, the Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams successfully completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of their scheduled liftoff on Tuesday, June 10, SpaceX announced on their official handle.
(ANI)
About The Author
