Florida: Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will finally begin his journey towards the International Space Station (ISS) in about an hour’s time. After several delays, SpaceX’s Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12.01 pm IST.
Group Captain Shukla will be the second Indian to travel to space. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian astronaut who travelled to space in 1984 on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft.
Shukla is travelling on an American commercial mission with three other astronauts. SpaceX has announced that the weather is 90 per cent favourable for blast off. The brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will be riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A.
Group Captain Shukla is being accompanied by mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The flight commander is Peggy Whitson of the United States, a former NASA astronaut who now works for Axiom Space. The Indian astronaut will be the mission pilot.
The vehicle is scheduled to dock with the orbital lab on Thursday at approximately 11:00 am GMT and remain there for up to 14 days. Shukla will carry out several experiments designed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) during this period. He is also expected to communicate with students and teachers from the ISS.
The 39-year-old fighter pilot was selected by ISRO as the prime astronaut for this historic flight. He may also communicate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi from outer space as Wing Commander Sharma did with Indira Gandhi in 1984.
