Axiom-4 launch: Shubhanshu Shukla’s historic space mission begins today — All you need to know

The Axiom4 mission is targeting a launch window of 231 am EDT or 12 noon IST on Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in the USThe crew piloted by Indias Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the companys Falcon 9 rocket The targeted docking time is approximately 7 am EDT on Thursday or 4 pm ISTThe fourmember crew which has been in quarantine in Florida will be commanded by Peggy Whitson a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Spaces Director of Human Spaceflight The mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz UznanskiWisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from HungaryThe Ax4 mission will realise the return to human spaceflight for India Poland and Hungary with each nations first governmentsponsored flight in more than 40 years While Ax4 marks these countries second human spaceflight mission in history it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space StationFor Group Captain Shukla this will be an opportunity to emulate fellow Indian Air Force Officer Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma who flew aboard Soyuz T11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme Sharma spent seven days in space on board the Salyut 7 space stationAt the space station Rakesh Sharma conducted experiments such as understanding yogas effects on the human body in weightlessness and taking photographs of India from outer space When then PM Indira Gandhi asked him how India looked from space he replied Saare Jahan Se Achha a phrase that has become an iconic milestone in Indias Space OdysseyI grew up reading about him in textbooks and listening to his stories from space I was deeply deeply impressed by him This journey that I am on has been a long one for me And it started out somewhere I did not know that this was the path it was going to take I would say that Ive been extremely fortunate and extremely lucky to have gotten the opportunities to first fly all my life which was a dream job for me and then have the opportunity to apply to the astronaut corps said Group Captain Shukla in a YouTube video posted by Ax4 missionThe Ax4 mission is also conducting major research The research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries including the US India Poland Hungary Saudi Arabia Brazil Nigeria UAE and nations across EuropeThis will be the most research and sciencerelated activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station to date underscoring the missions global significance and collaborative nature to advance microgravity research in lowEarth orbit LEOThe mission emphasises scientific portfolios led by the US India Poland in partnership with ESA and Hungary It aims to boost participation in these countries by involving diverse stakeholders showcasing the value of microgravity research and fostering international collaboration The studies will enhance global knowledge in human research Earth observation and life biological and material sciences demonstrating the space research capabilities of the crews home nationsFor ISRO and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla this mission lays the groundwork for Indias space roadmap is the goal to land an Indian on the Moon by 2040This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever