Latest news with #Gaganyaan
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
Shubhanshu Shukla floats, Isro digs in at Houston to watch & learn
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla may be astronaut number 634, but he is far from the only Indian drawing value from the Axiom-4 mission. While Shukla orbits Earth aboard the International Space Station, a contingent of Isro engineers and doctors stationed in Houston is immersed in a parallel mission — one rooted not in weightlessness, but in quiet learning. For them, this is not just a spectacle; it's a field laboratory where decades of preparation for India's human spaceflight future are converging into real, tactile understanding. 'This is the first time we're seeing these operations up close—till now, it was all just documentation,' said a senior Isro official closely involved with the mission. 'For us, this hands-on exposure is valuable. Add to this the science Shux will do at ISS, and it only gets better.' Part of Isro's delegation are eight engineers, Isro doctors and one doctor from IAF's Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), which was involved in the initial screening and selection of astronauts for India's Gaganyaan . On Thursday, the team got rare observational experience spread across the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Axiom's Mission Control in Houston. These individuals aren't simply shadowing American counterparts; they're embedded observers in restricted environments where much of the true know-how of human spaceflight resides. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo For instance, on the day the Dragon capsule docked with the ISS, the Isro team was not just allowed into the JSC to watch operations unfold live. 'We were on the audio loop, listening to mission control discussions. We saw what control operations did, how many docking attempts were made, what kind of error parameters were being monitored. These are not things you'll find in any public webcast or document,' the official said. While Nasa does publish mission sequences, the real-time judgement calls, procedural fluidity, and console data are generally inaccessible to the outside world — unless, as in this case, you're a partner with boots on the ground. Isro's access will deepen further. 'They're setting up a dedicated conference room for us, where live console data will flow in,' the official said. There's more than docking being studied. With Gaganyaan planning to carry out multiple docking ops in the years ahead — and with India's future space station on the horizon — Isro engineers are keen to absorb the choreography of mission ops in real environments. 'We've done one docking so far. But a space station will require many. Watching this from inside Nasa's systems gives us critical learning that we can't replicate in India just yet.' Medical operations, too, are under the Isro lens. Two doctors from the agency are part of the Houston team and are already participating in alternate-day medical conferences with Shukla aboard the ISS. 'It's a private medical conference link—used routinely by Nasa and Axiom—and our doctors are now involved in that process. This is how they'll learn the medical rhythms of human spaceflight,' the official said. As part of India's learning curve in astronaut rehabilitation and post-flight recovery, the doctors will also observe Shukla's reconditioning phases, both immediately after his return and during follow-up weeks in the US. The team is split between Axiom's control centre and JSC's, depending on the operation. While JSC largely handles docking and mission dynamics, Axiom leads crew management, flight surgeon coordination and private astronaut interfaces. Axiom's mission centre is where people from Hungary and Poland are stationed too but because they don't have Nasa agreement like Isro does, they don't have JSC access like the Indian space agency. Shux Floats, Isro Digs In At Houston To Watch & Learn.
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Letters to The Editor — June 28, 2025
Setting foot in space What an historic leap for India in space after decades (Front page, June 27). The cost of the Gaganyaan mission and the budget spent on Shubhanshu Shukla's seat on Ax-4 are not relevant if one considers the success rate of the Indian Space Research Organisation's missions. It must be viewed as an investment in advancing India's scientific progress. J.P. Reddy, Nalgonda, Telangana More importantly, the research work during the space odyssey is sure to rekindle scientific curiosity among schoolchildren. G. Ramasubramanyam, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh Tharoor versus Congress It is unfortunate that the Congress party appears to be intolerant of individual opinions within its ranks. There is a contrast between Shashi Tharoor's balanced perspective and the Congress critical stance toward the government at the Centre, which seems to be its primary agenda. Manicklal Chakraborty, Chennai Law and order I am sure that I am not making a mountain out of a molehill, but there is concern about the law and order problem in Tamil Nadu. The series of incidents that have been reported from across the State show Tamil Nadu in a bad light. The points that are being raised by the Opposition parties cannot be dismissed. The political dispensation needs to act. Mani Nataraajan, Chennai
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
India as a space power? Delhi eyes lift-off for sector after astronaut ISS milestone
The successful arrival of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla at the International Space Station (ISS) marks a pivotal moment in the country's evolving space strategy and signals its desire to join the ranks of global space powers, analysts have said. The move was also a stepping stone towards India 's first independent crewed mission by 2027 under the Gaganyaan programme, they added. The initiative is India's effort to become the fourth country – after Russia, the United States and China – to independently carry out human space flights. While on the ISS, Shukla will conduct scientific experiments on the effects of microgravity and space radiation on nutrient-rich microalgae, research that could play a vital role in sustaining human life during future deep-space missions. His participation is also seen as a major boost for India's broader space ambitions and an inspiration for aspiring astronauts, according to Satya Gupta, president of the VLSI Society of India, which promotes the country's digital and technological development. Axiom-4 pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India in Florida on Tuesday before his mission to the International Space Station. His participation is seen as a major boost for India's space ambitions. Photo: Reuters 'These scientific endeavours are useful over the long term. Nobody knew how important India's space economy would become when we started sending rockets 30 years ago,' Gupta said. 'It is not a straight calculation where you spend X amount of money and get returns immediately.'
Hans India
a day ago
- Science
- Hans India
A déjà vu moment for Indian space odyssey
Call it providence or pure coincidence but June 25 seems to be a day of destiny as regards India from even before it achieved independence. Many spectacular events have unfolded on this very day over the years. On June 25, 1932, India became the sixth team to be granted Test cricket status when it played its first match at Lord's on that historic day. Close to midnight of June 25, 1975, the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed proclaimed national Emergency citing 'internal disturbance'. It was to mark a watershed event as India's political landscape underwent a dramatic transformation and gave a new democratic dimension. On June 25, 1983, India rewrote cricketing history by emerging as world champions, when Kapil's Devils upset all calculations and put an end to the hat-trick quest of West Indies by winning the ODI World Cup in a stunning manner. Now 42 years to the day, June 25, 2025, to be precise, an Indian with the tricolour on his shoulders has put the country's name in a league of extraordinary achievers. A distinguished IAF pilot and astronaut, Lucknow's 39-year-old Shubhanshu Shukla scripted history by embarking on a space odyssey along with three others on Wednesday as part of an ISRO-NASA supported commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space that blasted off for a 14-day sojourn to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Incidentally, Shukla is one of four astronauts picked for ISRO's historic Gaganyaan mission, which marks India's inaugural human space flight endeavour. The lift-off at 12.01 pm on Wednesday (after several eleventh hour heart-breaking postponements) took the clock back by 41 years when Hyderabad's very own Rakesh Sharma became India's first man in space. He spent eight days in orbit as part of the then Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984. A day after the take-off, Shukla went a notch higher than Sharma when he achieved the distinction of being the first Indian astronaut to have travelled to ISS. Along with three other astronauts, he reached the ISS when the Dragon spacecraft, named Grace, docked with the orbital laboratory at 4:01 pm (IST) on Thursday over the North Atlantic Ocean, marking the climax of a 28 hours flight. Incidentally, Axiom 4 mission heralds the return to space not just for India, but Poland and Hungary as well. Also onboard is the mission commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungary's Tibor Kapu. If Shukla stirred the emotions of the countrymen with 'Sare Jahan se Achhcha…' while speaking to Indira Gandhi, Shukla's first message from space was equally patriotic. 'The Tiranga embossed on my shoulders tells me that I am with all of you. This journey of mine is not a beginning to the ISS but to India's Human Space Programme. I want all of you to be part of this journey. Your chest, too, should swell with pride... Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!' The October 10, 1985-born history-maker was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in June 2006. He has an excellent track-record as a combat leader and seasoned test pilot having a mindboggling 2,000 hours of flight experience across aircraft like the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and An-32. It is time Indians took a break from wars and conflicts and celebrated the glorious achievements of Shukla, Sharma and Sunita Williams, who set new benchmarks in spacewalk, which redefined 'resilience' during her nine-month stay aboard the ISS. Bravo, India's torchbearers of the extraordinary kind.
Time of India
a day ago
- Science
- Time of India
ISS lessons to guide India in next chapter: Gaganyaan
NEW DELHI: The Axiom-4 mission holds major significance for India's 'Gaganyaan' programme as the experience gained by Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during his trip to the International Space Station will help Isro fine-tune India's first human spaceflight mission, slated for early 2027. Though the four astronaut-designates for Gaganyaan - group captains Shukla, Prasanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap - have undergone training in Russia and India, none has first-hand space experience. Ax-4 will give Shukla an opportunity to experience life in an orbital station. During the 14-day ISS mission, Shukla will carry out seven India-led experiments, including research on seeds, algae and human physiology in microgravity, besides five experiments with Nasa. He will also get familiar with various crew systems aboard the ISS, gaining critical knowledge of how the station operates 400km above Earth. Once back, Shukla will share his learning with other Gaganyaan astronaut-designates. While the final crew for Gaganyaan is yet to be selected - two or three may be chosen - Shukla, armed with experience, is seen as a frontrunner. Space minister Jitendra Singh said Shukla's experiments will help advance space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems for long-duration missions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The anime RPG everyone's talking about is finally free! Nikke: Goddess Of Victory Play Now Undo One study involves understanding how space radiation affects edible microalgae - a promising food source for astronauts. Another experiment examines cyanobacteria like Spirulina and Synechococcus in microgravity, assessing their growth using nitrogen sources, including urea from human waste, to support recycling-based life systems. The experiments will use indigenously-developed biotech kits designed for microgravity. The effort will nurture a space biology ecosystem in India. Shukla will also interact with PM Modi, students, and industry leaders during the mission, showcasing India's growing capabilities in space.
