The 39-year-old IAF pilot became the 634th astronaut to travel to space.
Nellore:Indian Air Force’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday became the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS), a step that could help India in accomplishing its manned space mission and manned lunar mission.
After travelling for 28 hours around the earth, the Dragon spacecraft named Grace' docked with the ISS at 4.15 pm (IST) and Group Captain Shukla, along with three other astronauts, entered the orbital laboratory at 5.53 pm.
The seven-member space station crew, who are part of Expedition 73, welcomed Axiom-4 mission commander Peggy Whitson as she floated into the station soon after the hatch-opening procedures were completed. Ms Whitson, a veteran astronaut, floated into the space station at 5.53 pm, followed by Group Captain Shukla, Polish engineer Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungary's Tibor Kapu close behind.
“With your love and blessings, I have reached the International Space Station. It looks easy to stand here, but my head is a little heavy, facing some difficulty, but these are minor issues. We will get used to it. This is the first step of this journey,” Group Captain Shukla said in brief remarks in Hindi at the formal welcome ceremony at the ISS, which he ended with a “Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!” message.
The 39-year-old IAF pilot became the 634th astronaut to travel to space. He is also the second Indian citizen to go to space — beyond escape velocity — in 41 years and the first since Rakesh Sharma's eight-day sojourn in 1984.
During their time aboard the space station, the crew will conduct a diverse array of over 60 experiments spanning various fields of biology and technology, including microgravity research, technology demonstrations, and outreach engagements.
The spacecraft was put into a low-Earth orbit by SpaceX's Falcon rocket that was launched from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12.01 pm on Wednesday. After 28 hours of travelling around the Earth, the Dragon capsule had approached the space station, about 400 km above Earth, to complete the docking sequence.
The docking was completed within 14 minutes after the spacecraft achieved a soft capture with the Harmony module of the ISS over the North Atlantic Ocean, followed by careful manoeuvres to establish communication, power links and pressure stabilisation.
In Group Captain Shukla's hometown in Lucknow, his parents and relatives, teachers, friends, scores of students and onlookers greeted the docking with a standing ovation and let out a collective roar at the City Montessori School.
