About ten minutes after launch, the spaceship called Dragon reached orbit, which means it started circling the Earth very fast—7.5 kilometers every second—at a height of about 200 kilometers above the planet. Before leaving, Shukla said he wanted to inspire young people in India to be curious and creative. He told everyone that his journey is also the journey of all 1.4 billion Indians.
During his time in space, there will be events to share his experience, and he will even talk live with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The team also brought special foods from their countries. Shukla will share Indian curry and rice with mango nectar, while his friends brought Hungarian paprika paste and Polish pierogies.
Shukla said from space, “It was a great ride,” and in Hindi, he added, “Namaskar, my dear countrymen; we have reached space after 41 years.” He also said that this trip was not just about him going to the ISS, but the start of India’s journey into human spaceflight.
Wearing a suit with India’s flag, he told everyone he hopes Indians will join in and be part of this new adventure. This mission is a big step not just for India, but also for Poland and Hungary, who also sent representatives to space after many years. It shows how countries around the world are working together and how private companies are helping more people go to space.
The mission also included some experienced astronauts, like Peggy Whitson, who is in charge, and astronauts from Poland and Hungary. The rocket took off at 12:01 pm Indian time, and many people around the world cheered for the launch.
At a school in Lucknow, called City Montessori School, Shukla’s parents and students watched the launch live, feeling very proud and emotional. India celebrated an exciting moment on Wednesday when Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
This happened 41 years after another Indian, Rakesh Sharma, went to space for the first time. Shukla is part of a special trip called Axiom-4, which is a private space mission. He traveled to space on a rocket called Falcon 9, made by a company called SpaceX, from a place in Florida called Kennedy Space Center.
The spaceship, called Grace, is expected to reach the ISS around 4:30 pm on Thursday after traveling for about 28 hours. Once there, the astronauts will stay for two weeks and do over 60 scientific experiments to learn about the human body in space, space technology, and our Earth.
