“Wasn’t Feeling Great When Shot Into Vacuum”: Shubhanshu Shukla Shares First Message From Space
New Delhi:
In a historic moment for Indian space exploration, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-year-old Indian Air Force pilot turned astronaut, shared his first message from space after launching aboard the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission marks India’s return to human spaceflight after a 41-year hiatus.
“Hello everyone, namaskar from space. I am thrilled to be here with my fellow astronauts. Wow, what a ride it was,” said Group Captain Shukla, reflecting on his experience shortly after liftoff. “When I was sitting in the capsule on the launchpad, the only thought in my mind was: let’s just go.”
Describing the liftoff, he added, “When the ride started, it was something—you getting pushed back in the seat. It was an amazing ride. And then suddenly nothing. You are floating in vacuum.
Strapped inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Shukla opened up about the surreal transition into microgravity. “I was not feeling very great when we got shot into the vacuum,” he admitted candidly. “But I have been told I am sleeping a lot since yesterday.”
Sharing his adaptation to life in orbit, he said, “I am learning like a baby; how to walk and eat in space.”
Shukla is joined on the Ax-4 mission by a multinational crew: Commander Peggy Whitson, a veteran NASA astronaut, and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland.
The liftoff was broadcast live and watched by thousands across the globe, including Mr. Shukla’s family. Watch parties were held in India, Hungary, Poland, and the United States, with emotional reactions from cities like Lucknow, Budapest, Gdansk, and Houston, as the rocket soared from the historic LC-39A pad—the same one used for Apollo 11’s Moon mission.
With this launch, Shubhanshu Shukla becomes only the second Indian citizen in space and the first Indian to reach the ISS, orbiting Earth at speeds of 7.5 km per second. The last Indian in space was Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew aboard a joint Indo-Soviet mission in April 1984.
The Ax-4 mission faced several delays before achieving lift-off. Initially scheduled for May 29, the launch was postponed due to weather issues and technical anomalies in the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. After nearly a month of intensive troubleshooting by NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom teams, the mission was finally cleared for flight.
