Shubhanshu Shukla says ISS mission aids Gaganyaan, Antariksh plans

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to embark on a mission to the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission, said on Thursday (August 21) that the experience gained from the mission will be extremely useful for Indian missions such as Gaganyaan and Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

Shukla thanks Govt, ISRO

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Shukla also thanked the Government, ISRO, researchers and his fellow crew members.

"The benefit of executing a human space mission is more than the training. The supplementary knowledge we get just by being there is invaluable. All the information I have collected in the past year will be extremely useful to us for our own missions, Gaganyaan and Bharatiya Antariksh Station. Very soon we shall send someone from our capsule, from our rocket and our soil,” said Shukla as quoted by ANI. He was addressing a joint press conference along with Union Minister Jitendra Singh and ISRO chairman V Narayanan.

“ The experience is very different from what you learn on the ground. The body goes through a lot of changes. The body forgets how to live in gravity after spending 20 days in space,” he added.

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Recalls experience as mission pilot

Pointing out that he was the pilot for the Axion-4 mission, Shukla said that he had to work with the commander and interact with the systems of the Crew Dragon.

“I want to thank the Indian Government, ISRO and my colleagues... We were flying on top of the Falcon 9 Vehicle. Crew Dragon is one of the three vehicles that can take humans to space. My profile in this mission was the mission pilot. There are four seats in the Crew Dragon,” said Shukla.

“ I was the mission pilot and I had to work with the commander and interact with the systems of the Crew Dragon... We had to perform the experiments that were conceived, developed and realised by the Indian researchers. And also to perform STEM demonstrations, capture photos and videographs,” he added.

Also Read: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returns to India after ISS mission

'All technical objectives achieved'

He also said that the mission was successful and all technical objectives were achieved. “This mission has been extremely successful. We have been able to achieve all of our technical objectives... Execution of such a mission gives a lot of knowledge that cannot be measured or documented,” he said.

“This mission has been extremely successful. We have been able to achieve all of our technical objectives... Execution of such a mission gives a lot of knowledge that cannot be measured or documented,” added Shukla.

Also Read: Shubhanshu Shukla on readjusting to Earth: ‘Dropped laptop, expected it to float’

Number of ISRO missions doubled

During the press conference, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said that the number of missions launched by India between 2005 to 2015 is twice as many as those launched between 2005 to 2015.

Praising Shukla, the ISRO chairman said that in the last 10 years, the progress in space research has been phenomenal and exponential.

“During the last six months, three important missions were completed. The Axiom 4 mission is a very prestigious mission, successfully accomplished. First Indian to be brought back safely from the International Space Station (ISS), we have the Gaganyaatri Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla," he added.

"In 2-3 months, around 6,500 kg communication satellites of the USA are going to be launched using our launch using our launch vehicle. Until today, 433 satellites of 34 countries have been launched from India," said Narayanan, adding that G20 satellites will be given to various countries.