Shukla’s space odyssey a new milestone for India after 41 years

INDIA’s return to human spaceflight has come after 41 long years, but it has been worth the wait. After a series of frustrating delays, the Axiom-4 mission has finally taken off — with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three others on board. The IAF officer has embarked on a journey to the International Space Station (ISS), over four decades after Rakesh Sharma — a Squadron Leader back in 1984 — spent nearly eight days aboard the erstwhile Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station. Shukla’s achievement has made him the firm favourite to spearhead Gaganyaan, India’s human space mission. This ambitious programme is on the right track, with the first human spaceflight scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. The experience gained by Shukla on the ISS will be of invaluable help to fellow Indian astronauts who have been shortlisted for this mission.