New Delhi, August 7: Shubhanshu Shukla, IAF Group Captain, who was selected as the prime Gaganyatri for India's Gaganyaan mission, arrived at Houston in the US on August, 5 to train for the Indo-US Axiom-4 (Ax-4) Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) mission. Ax-4 Mission is a multilateral crew partnership between National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with US space agency Axiom. This collaboration was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year during his visit to the US.

Ax-4 Mission is the company's new commercial human spaceflight mission to the orbiting space laboratory. Shubhanshu Shukla is representing India as part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) along with three other astronauts from USA, Poland and Hungary. He was recommended as the prime Gaganyatri (out of the four trained by ISRO) by a National Mission Assignment Board. Shukla will be the Mission Pilot of Ax-4 along with Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson and two Mission Specialists, Sławosz Uznański and Tibor Kapu. Ax-4 will launch to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Florida, and the crew is expected to spend up to 14 days on the space station. PM Narendra Modi To Fly to Space via Gaganyaan Spacecraft During India’s First Human Mission? Here’s What ISRO Chief S Somnath Said.

Axiom Space Welcomes Crew Members of Ax-4 at Houston 

Michael Suffredini, CEO of Axiom Space said, "Ax-4 represents Axiom Space’s continued efforts to build opportunity for countries to research, innovate, test, and engage with people around the world while in low-Earth orbit." Previously, Shukla had undergone space-flight training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC), Russia as well as at ISRO's Astronauts Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru. Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO and NASA Partner With US-Based Private Company Axiom Space To Send 1 Gaganyatri to International Space Station.

ISRO Chief S Somnath on Axiom-4 Mission:

S Somnath said during an online interaction that ISRO will be conduct five experiments, some of which will be onboard Ax-4 Mission. These experiments, designed by India in collaboration with other space agencies, are at the development stages. Further he added, "“A Gaganyatri flying to the ISS will help us understand how India should prepare for Gaganyaan. When the astronaut experiences the flight, we can learn from how they conduct the mission and hos the spacecraft docks with the ISS. Working with an international crew will provide us with valuable knowledge"

What is India's Gaganyaan Mission?

ISRO's Gaganyaan Mission 2024 envisages the demonstration of India's human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of around 400 km for a 3-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth, by landing in the Indian sea waters. It will display India's innovative space research and indigenous development of many critical technologies including human rated launch vehicle, life support system to crew in space, emergency escape provision, etc. which are pre-requisites for the mission.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2024 06:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).