CNN
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After Shuvanshu Shukra became the first astronaut to explode on the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, India celebrated another step on its mission to become a space force.
Shukla was riding a private Axiom Space Mission 4 or Ax-4 lifted from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the latest mission hosted by a Texas-based startup in collaboration with Elon Musk’s Rocket Venture Spacex.
It is expected to dock at 7am on Thursday at 7am on Thursday to the station’s Harmony Module’s space port.
Private missions include the decorated former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Poland’s Swarth Uznaski Winnier Whiskey and Hungarian Tibor Cap.
A mission pilot, and others are expected to spend around two weeks on the ISS, which will help them do about 60 experiments before they get home.
According to a statement from the US Space Agency, NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are working together on the mission.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X that Shukra “conveys him the hopes, hopes and aspirations of the 1.4 billion Indians.”
“I hope he and the other astronauts will all succeed!” he wrote.
Shukra is the second Indian citizen to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, who rode a Soviet rocket in 1984.
Sharma was very hoping for the crew of the Ax-4.
“We wish you all the best, to Godspeed, crew,” he said in a video message posted online by India’s Prestrust.
“Look out the window and spend as much time as possible.”
Shukla’s parents were seen getting emotional after watching a live stream of the Northern Lucknow explosion.
“He is the first person and the first Indian on the ISS. It’s a truly amazing moment for our Indians,” student Isma Talik told Reuters. “It’s inspiration for me… I want to be great too and be a global contributor like (Shukra).”
Another student, Mohammad Hamgan, calls it “a moment of pride for Indians.”
He told Reuters: “It encourages me to be a space scientist. I’ve always loved reading about science fiction and everything, but this is exciting for us as students.”
Shukla’s flight is considered the predecessor of India’s own Gaganyaan mission, the country’s first human space mission, which is scheduled to take off in 2027.
Four Indian Air Force pilots selected for the mission have completed their initial training in Russia and are undergoing further training in India, according to a May statement from the Indian government.
India’s universe ambitions were accelerated under Modi, who was elected for the third term in June last year and attempted to assert India’s position at the global stage.
In January it became the fourth country to successfully achieve unmanned docking in space.
In 2023, India joined the Elite Space Club and became the fourth country to land spacecraft on the moon. The historic Chandrayan-3 mission, which first created a soft landing near the lunar unexplored Antarctica, collected samples to help scientists understand how the moon formed and evolved over time.
The country is also aiming to build its own space station by 2035, known as Bharatiya Antariksha Station, which will launch its first orbital mission on Venus in 2028.
