‘Own capsule, our rocket, FROM our soil’ Shubhanshu hopes someone will travel to space very soon

 

 

 

EXCITED after a successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday hoped someone would very soon travel to space “from our own capsule, from our rocket, from our soil”. Addressing a press conference here, Group Captain Shukla said the first-hand experience from the ISS mission was invaluable and a lot better than any training. He also said India looks “saare jahaan se achcha (better than the entire world)” even today -- words first used by Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma after his space mission in 1984. On his Axiom-4 Mission, Shukla said the experience from the ISS mission would be very useful for India’s own Gaganyaan mission, and he learnt a lot in the past year as part of his mission.

 

“No matter how much training you have done, even after that, when you sit in the rocket and the engines ignite, when they catch fire, I think it is a very different feeling. “I had not imagined how it would feel, and I was actually running behind the rocket for the first few seconds, and it took me some time to catch up to it. From that moment until the time we splashed down, the experience was unbelievable. It was so exciting and so amazing that I have really been struggling to find words to convey it to you, so that you can live that experience through my words,” he said. Shukla meets Rajnath: AFTER a successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during which they discussed his space journey, the vital experiments he undertook in orbit, and Gaganyaan, India’s pioneering human spaceflight programme.

 

The meeting took place at South Block in New Delhi, a senior official said. Singh said Group Captain Shukla’s journey will inspire the young minds of India. “Delighted to meet Group Captain Shubanshu Shukla, the first Indian Astronaut, on-board International Space Station. We discussed his inspiring space journey, the vital experiments he undertook in orbit, advances in science and technology, and the road ahead with India’s pioneering #Gaganyaan mission. His journey will inspire the young minds of India. The nation is proud of his achievements,” he posted on X. The Defence Minister also shared some photos of the meeting.