Indian astronaut Shukla set for area journey subsequent month: Jitendra Singh

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is ready to journey to the Worldwide House Station subsequent month as a part of an Axiom-4 mission, 4 a long time after Rakesh Sharma’s iconic spaceflight onboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, Union minister Jitendra Singh mentioned on Friday.

Singh made the announcement after reviewing the work of the division of area and the Indian House Analysis Organisation (ISRO) in New Delhi. “Group captain Shukla’s journey is greater than only a flight – it is a sign that India is stepping boldly into a brand new period of area exploration,” Singh mentioned.

ISRO chairman V. Narayanan made a presentation on numerous upcoming area missions.

ISRO is ready to launch the NISAR satellite tv for pc — developed collectively with NASA — in June on board the GSLV-Mark 2 rocket, Singh mentioned, including that in July, the area company will put in orbit BlueBird Block-2 satellites of US-based AST SpaceMobile Inc. utilizing the heavy-lift LVM-3 rocket.

Singh mentioned group captain Shukla’s mission, scheduled for Might, marks a milestone in India’s increasing worldwide area collaborations.

A embellished take a look at pilot with the Indian Air Drive, Group Captain Shukla was shortlisted underneath ISRO’s human spaceflight programme and is among the many prime contenders for the Gaganyaan mission.

His journey aboard the Axiom-4 mission is predicted to supply crucial hands-on expertise in spaceflight operations, launch protocols, microgravity adaptation, and emergency preparedness — all important for India’s crewed area ambitions, an official assertion mentioned.