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Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became India’s second astronaut going into space. Senior journalist Manoj Tibrewal Aakash analysed the space mission on his show:
Shubhanshu Shukla - India's Pride
New Delhi: The morning of 25 June, not an ordinary day, but brought a new chapter of the space age for India and the whole world. A morning that recorded India's technological and scientific capabilities in golden letters in the pages of history.
On this day, another son of India flew towards space. This flight was of Axiom Mission 4, a private but historic mission, which re-emphasized not only technology but also India's possibilities on the global space map.
Veteran jounalist Manoj Tibrewal Aakash on his show 'The MTA Speaks' said that Axiom Mission 4 was launched by the US private company Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX. This mission is internationally important because it not only symbolizes technological progress, but also advances international cooperation and shared interests of science.
Among the four astronauts participating in this mission, India is being represented by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is playing the role of pilot in this mission. At 12:01 pm Indian time, the historic launch of Axiom Mission 4 took place by SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Apart from India, it includes experienced astronauts from America, Hungary and Poland. These include America's experienced astronaut Peggy Whitson as commander, Hungary's Tibor Kapu and Poland's Slavoj Wisniewski as mission specialists. The most important responsibility of the pilot is on the shoulders of Shubhanshu Shukla.
Under Axiom Mission 4, these astronauts will stay on the International Space Station (ISS) for a total of 14 days, where they will conduct about 60 scientific and technical experiments in microgravity. These experiments include the effect of space on the human body, the behavior of biological systems, testing new technologies, development of medicines and analysis of the possibilities of long-term life in space. This mission is said to be with the most scientific activities organized by Axiom Space so far.
An important objective of this mission is to explore the possibilities of future commercial space stations. It also further strengthens the role of the private sector in space research. Its goals also include promoting international cooperation and making space more accessible from a commercial and scientific point of view.
The flight of Axiom Mission 4 was not easy. It was originally scheduled to be launched on 29 May 2025, but it had to be postponed several times due to technical flaws. First of all, the problem of liquid oxygen leakage in the Falcon-9 booster came to the fore. After this, a technical glitch in the Russian module of the ISS further delayed the mission. After technical problems on 8, 10 and 11 June, all the flaws were finally removed on 19 June. When all the conditions were found favorable on 22 June, then this much-awaited mission was given the green signal.
The Dragon spacecraft, carrying all four astronauts, will reach the International Space Station after a journey of about 28 hours. This docking will take place on 26 June at 4:30 pm Indian time. “Docking” is a complex process of space science, in which the spacecraft has to be connected to the space station. After docking, scientific activities will continue for 14 days, the results of which can provide many new directions to humanity in the future.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who created history by taking the responsibility of the pilot in this mission. Shubhanshu was born on 10 October 1985 in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. His primary education was from City Montessori School, Aliganj, Lucknow. Since childhood, his dream was to touch the sky, and to achieve this goal, he chose the army. After studying BSc Computer Science, he did MTech in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
After this, he passed the NDA exam and got commissioned in the Indian Air Force in the year 2006. As a diligent officer of the Air Force, he flew aircraft like MiG-21, MiG-29, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier. Shubhanshu has more than 2000 flight hours of experience. This ability of his makes him the most suitable candidate for space travel.
Shubhanshu not only excelled in the Indian Air Force, but he also received training from ISRO and NASA. In the year 2019, he was selected in the joint Vyomanaut selection process of ISRO and Indian Air Force. After this, he underwent rigorous training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia and the ISRO Astronaut Training Center in Bengaluru. On 27 February 2024, he was included among the four potential astronauts of India's Gaganyaan mission.
Through Axiom Mission 4, Shubhanshu Shukla not only represented India, but for the first time in a private space mission, an Indian citizen has set a new example by taking the responsibility of a pilot. Earlier, great personalities like Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams have made India proud in space, but Shubhanshu is special in the sense that he is the pilot of a full commercial spaceflight.
His achievement is an inspiration for millions of Indian youth. This shows that if the dream is big and the determination to achieve it is equally strong, then the boundaries automatically disappear - whether they are of earth or space. This flight of Shubhanshu is not only a scientific achievement, but it is a symbol of an idea, a vision and a national self-confidence.
Axiom Mission 4 is also a symbol of global cooperation. In this, astronauts from four different countries are working together. It advances the concept of shared heritage and shared humanity in space. It tells that science has no boundaries, and when the world works together, even the impossible becomes possible.
This mission is also an important step towards Space Diplomacy. Space experiments conducted together by citizens of four countries become a symbol of solidarity, peace and cooperation.
Today is the day of victory of Indian science, the aspirations of the youth and the strength of the nation. Axiom Mission 4 is not just a technological mission, but it is a symbol of India's space policy, its scientific progress and its respect on the international stage.
