Shubhanshu Shukla’s New Message: Hours after launching on the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), 39-year-old Indian Air Force pilot turned astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla sent his first private message from orbit today. After a 41-year hiatus, India is making its comeback to human spaceflight with this historic launch.

“Hello everyone, from space, Namaskar. Being here with my fellow astronauts makes me very happy. What a journey it was. “Let’s just go,” said Group Captain Shukla, “was all I could think of as I was sitting in the capsule on the launchpad. “Something was pushing you back in the seat when the ride began. The ride was incredible. Then all of a sudden there was nothing. He remarked, “You are floating in a vacuum.”

“I’m learning like a baby”:

Mr. Shukla said his space experience while strapped into his seat inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which was launched yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. “I am learning like a baby, how to walk and eat in space,” Mr. Shukla remarked. Mr. Shukla talked about the bizarre experience of microgravity during his first few hours on board the spacecraft. “I was not feeling very great when we got shot into the vacuum,” he said openly, “but I have been told I am sleeping a lot since yesterday.”

Also Read: Who Is Shubhanshu Shukla? Meet the Indian Space New Hero

Mr. Shukla joins three other astronauts on the Ax-4 mission: Commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut with three prior spaceflights, and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland. Thousands of well-wishers gathered at public watch parties across India, Hungary, Poland, and the United States to witness the live launch, including Mr. Shukla’s family. As the Falcon 9 lifted off from the historic LC-39A launch pad, the same site from which Apollo 11 began its Moon mission in July 1969, cheers erupted from Lucknow to Budapest, Gdansk to Houston.

First Indian Citizen to ISS:

Mr. Shukla has become the first Indian citizen to reach the International Space Station, orbiting the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometers per second. He is now only the second Indian to travel to space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew as part of a joint Indo-Soviet mission in April 1984. Originally set for launch on May 29, the mission faced multiple delays due to weather conditions and technical issues with the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. Teams from NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom worked intensively for nearly a month to resolve the problems before achieving a successful lift-off.

Also Read: Shubhanshu Shukla’s First video inside SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule

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