IAF Group Captain becomes first Indian in 41 years to travel to space, completes Nasa-led Axiom-4 mission to ISS
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the second Indian ever in space and the first to visit the International Space Station (ISS), returned to India early Sunday after successfully completing the Nasa-led Axiom-4 mission, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
The Indian Air Force test pilot created history by becoming the first Indian in 41 years—since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984—to travel to space. The Axiom-4 mission launched from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25.
Shukla splashed down off the California coast on July 15 after an 18-day stay aboard the ISS and was welcomed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport by his wife Kamna, Union minister Jitendra Singh, and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta
Ahead of his return, Shukla shared an emotional message on X: “As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions… I feel sad leaving behind a fantastic group of people who became family, but I am excited to reunite with my loved ones and the nation. I guess this is what life is – everything all at once.”
He recalled words of wisdom from his commander, veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson: “The only constant in spaceflight is change.”
During his ISS stay, Shukla conducted key scientific experiments that will directly support India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, scheduled to begin with an unmanned mission later this year.
The Axiom-4 mission is being hailed as a landmark moment in India’s space journey. Experts say Shukla’s contributions will help pave the way for the country to send astronauts into orbit aboard an indigenous spacecraft in the coming years.
