India celebrates sending its first astronaut into space after 41 years

Jubilent Indians are celebrating the successful launch of the Axiom-4 (AX-4) mission, which has been closed with a multi-country crew including an Indian astronaut.

Group captain Shubhinhu Shukla, who is operating the mission, has become the second Indian to travel to space.

In only 26 hours – when the spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) – Group Captain Shukla will become the first Indian to visit NASA’s circumambulation laboratory.

His visit took place after 41 years when Cosmonut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to fly in space in 1984 to ride in a Russian Soyuz.

Under the leadership of NASA’s former Astronaut Pagi Whitson – a space giant, who has been the commander of the ISS twice, has spent more than 675 days in space and walked 10 space – X -4 raised 02:31 EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (06:31 GMT; 12:01 India time).

ISS travel in AX -4 – Houston -based private company Axiom Space is a commercial flight – NASA, India’s space agency ISRO, European Space Agency (ESA) and Spacex.

Its four-member team also includes Slavose Uznansky-Visnivski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. They will take their countries back into space after more than four decades. Astronauts spent weeks in quaraks before Wednesday’s launch.

The Udaan has created a huge interest in India with ISRO, stating that the captain of the experience group will get during his visit to ISS, its efforts will be greatly helped.

The 39 -year -old was one of the four Indian Air Force officials last year to travel on the country’s first human space flight set for 2027. India has also announced ambitious plans to set up a space station by 2035 and send a astronaut to the moon by 2040.

ISRO, who are doing several tests to prepare to go into space, have paid a 5BN ($ 59m; £ 43m) to secure a seat for Group Captain Shukla on AX-4 and their training.

Within minutes of take off, Group Captain Shukla had a message to India.

“We are back into space after 41 years and this is a wonderful ride,” he said.

“Right now, we are orbiting the Earth at a speed of 7.5 km per second. On my shoulder, I take the Indian flag.

The launch on Falcon 9 rocket using the SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsules was broadcast live by Axiom Space and NASA and established the ceremony in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Welcome Successful launch and stated that the Indian astronaut “works with 1.4 billion Indians’ wishes, hopes and aspirations”.

In the group of Group captain Shukla’s home city of Lucknow, their parents joined hundreds of students to see the lift-off. On his arrival at school, he was welcomed by a music band and was seen applauding the rocket.

Born on 10 October 1985 in the northern city of Lucknow, group captain Shukla joined the Indian Air Force in 2006 as a fighter pilot.

He has flown Migs, Sukhois, Dorniers, Jaguar and Hawks and has experience of flight over 2,000 hours.

Describing the previous year as “nothing less than transformative”, group captain Shukla recently stated at an online press conference that he did not have words to describe his excitement.

“It has been a wonderful journey so far, but the best is yet to come,” he said.

“As I go to space, I not only take equipment and equipment, I take the hopes and dreams of one billion hearts.

He said, “I request all Indians to pray for the success of our mission.”

In addition to operating the mission, the Indian astronaut will have a busy schedule over its two weeks on ISS.

Keeping in mind the huge interest in the flight, ISRO has stated that they are organizing programs for them to interact with Indian students and to answer their questions by swimming in space. A conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also on the card.

But most of the time, the four -member crew will conduct 60 scientific experiments, of which seven come from India.

Mitra, a former NASA scientist, says that the uses of ISRO will help our understanding of space and its impact on biology and micro-miscreants.

One of the major experiments, she explains, will examine the impact of the spaceflight on six varieties of crop seeds.

She says that another ISRO experiment involves increasing three strains of microalgi, which can be used in food, fuel or even life support systems and will help identify the most suitable people to grow in microgravity, she says she says.

ISRO projects will also check that Tardigrades – Micro -Enemals on Earth that can avoid extreme environment – will rent into space.

The purpose of other experiments is to identify how muscle loss in space and how it can be treated; And the physical and cognitive effects of using computer screens in microgravity.