Claps, cheers & countdown—students witness Axiom-4 liftoff from Bengaluru's Nehru Planetarium
As the students curiously watched the screening, the room witnessed another batch of schoolchildren, much younger than the previous group, stream in. In a matter of minutes, the empty seats in the auditorium filled with kids from BBMP School in the city. Some students scrambled to get the right seat to grab the perfect visuals.
Bengaluru: Around 20 minutes past 11 this morning, a group of school students walked into the Vishveshwara Auditorium in Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bangalore. In front of them played on a giant screen the livestream of Axiom-4 astronauts seated inside the spaceflight, ready for a historic liftoff.
About 20 minutes into the stream, the volume level was tuned down as JNP director B.R. Guruprasad walked on the stage to give a running commentary in English and Kannada. About 20 minutes were left for Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his team of Axiom-4 mission astronauts to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
In the front row seats of the auditorium, a much older crowd was seated including officials from the planetarium.
'Enjoying the video?' asked Guruprasad. The crowd responded with a joyful yes followed by claps. The Axiom-4 mission's launch faced multiple delays and postponements, and the audience was finally happy to see the launch.
Eight minutes before the lift-off, Guruprasad gives a live commentary on the long awaited favourable weather conditions. The screen soon goes into a close-up of the launch vehicle, with white thick smoke around it.
'Only three minutes left,' said Guruprasad. As a former scientist at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Guruprasad explained to the students that delays happen in such cases. But now he was super confident the launch will go as planned.
The countdown
As the countdown came to final moment, the students joined in with a collective '10, 9, 8, 7…'.
At 12:01 pm Indian Standard Time (IST), the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with a full thrust on the ground. The students cheered in delight. Another huge round of claps was let out when the first booster separation happened and the flight proceeded to the second stage.
'There was no problem. We are happy that we could live stream the launch,' said Guruprasad.
Four minutes into the flight, the rocket had travelled almost 200 kilometers, moving at a speed of 8,000 kilometers per hour and successfully passing the first stage. 'In our country, we should make space travel accessible,' Guruprasad added.
Raj N., who was among the audience at the auditorium, said, 'When I was 11 years old in 1984, we saw Rakesh Sharma go to space. I still remember even the logo of that launch—a chariot going to the sun.'
Interestingly, he is at the screening with his 11-year-old son Dhruva. 'It's not just about the rocket launch. There are scientists who built the rocket and also people who are monitoring the rocket all the time,' Dhruva said, his excitement palpable on watching the screening.
Santha, a woman in her late 60s, also joined the screening, eagerly seated in the front row with curiosity in her eyes. 'This is my first time attending such event.'
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: Axiom-4: IISc mentor roots for Shubhanshu Shukla. Tells him, 'Come back safe, thesis still pending'
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