Shukla Becomes First Indian to Enter International Space Station

Key Points

• 1IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian to enter the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon.
• 2He was part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) and greeted people back home with a “Namaskar from space”.
• 3The spacecraft docked with the ISS at 4:01 p.m. IST as it passed over the north Atlantic Ocean.
• 4Shukla is one of four astronauts designated for Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight mission, planned no earlier than 2026.
• 5ISRO paid more than ₹500 crore for the Ax-4 mission, which included Shukla and Prasanth Nair.
• 6The four astronauts will spend two weeks at the ISS conducting scientific experiments, including eight from ISRO.