New Delhi:
“We are orbiting the Earth. This is the start of India’s human space program. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.”
These were the first words from orbit spoken by Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, shortly after the Axiom-4 mission successfully entered Earth orbit. His message, relayed from the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft following separation from the Falcon 9 upper stage, marked a historic return to human spaceflight for India, 41 years after Rakesh Sharma’s iconic mission in 1984.
At 12:01 pm IST (2:31 am EDT), the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Onboard was a four-member crew: Shukla of India, mission commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
“Namaskar, my dear countrymen! What a ride! We are back in the space once again after 41 years. It’s an amazing ride. We are revolving around the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometres per second. The Tiranga embossed on my shoulders tells me that I am with all of you. This journey of mine is not a beginning to the International Space Station (ISS) but to India’s Human Space Programme. I want all of you to be part of this journey. Your chest, too, should swell with pride…Together, let’s initiate India’s Human Space Programme. Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!” Group Captain Shukla said from space.
The Axiom-4 mission, operated by Houston-based Axiom Space, is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the first to carry an Indian astronaut under a commercial spaceflight.
The launch came after a series of delays and final-minute troubleshooting. Engineers resolved a critical issue involving the upload of real-time wind data necessary to enable the Launch Escape System. The data upload was confirmed successful just one minute before the irreversible phase of the countdown at T-minus 35 minutes.
The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is on its maiden flight. Following standard orbital phasing procedures, it is scheduled to dock with the ISS at approximately 4:30 pm IST tomorrow.
