Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla: 4 Decades of India’s Space Dreams

On June 8, 2025, when Personnel Captain Shubhanshu Shukla blasts off into space, he'll raise the hopes of 1.4 billion Indians, marking a ancient 2d precisely 41 years after India’s first astronaut ventured into the cosmos. Shukla will flit as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, a prestigious collaboration between the Indian Space Compare Organisation (ISRO), NASA, and Axiom Space, a private American space firm. Launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will raise Shukla and three numerous astronauts—Peggy Whitson (USA), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary)—to the World Space Role (ISS). This 14-day mission, India’s 2d human spaceflight, is a compulsory step toward the Gaganyaan programme, showcasing India’s growing prowess in space exploration.

Four an extended time ago, a plucky Indian pilot grew to turn out to be the first from our nation to the touch the celebs, sparking pride all the procedure in which through the nation. This day, one other Indian is bright to preserve those needs into orbit. Flit Commander Rakesh Sharma and Personnel Captain Shubhanshu Shukla are shining beacons in India’s space whisk. Their missions, separated by years, trace how India has remodeled from a beginner to a daring participant in space exploration. Here’s a web a study their inspiring reviews, the spacecraft they frail, the experiments they conducted, and why their journeys matter to every Indian.

Flit Commander Rakesh Sharma: India’s First Space Pioneer

On April 3, 1984, Flit Commander Rakesh Sharma, a 35-300 and sixty five days-faded Indian Air Power pilot, grew to turn out to be the first Indian to whisk to space. He flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11 as part of a joint mission between ISRO and the Soviet Interkosmos programme. Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the spacecraft docked with the Salyut 7 space tell, orbiting Earth at an altitude of about 250–300 km (155–186 miles). Sharma, along with Soviet cosmonauts Yury Malyshev and Gennady Strekalov, spent 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes in space. They returned to Earth on April 11, 1984, landing in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz T-10 module.

At some stage in his mission, Sharma conducted 43 experimental sessions, specializing in bio-remedy and a ways away sensing. He photographed India from space, taking pictures photos that helped diagram natural resources and saved years of ground surveys. His highly efficient cameras even spotted mountaineers climbing Mount Everest! Sharma additionally tested yoga in microgravity, exploring the procedure in which it can perchance encourage the physique adapt to weightlessness. These experiments showed the field that India could contribute to world space science.

Sharma’s mission was once a matter of national pride. He carried the Indian tricolour, portraits of then-Top Minister Indira Gandhi, President Zail Singh, and Defence Minister Venkataraman, and soil from Mahatma Gandhi’s resting space at Rajghat. In a televised call with Indira Gandhi, when requested how India looked from space, Sharma spoke back, “Saare Jahan Se Achcha” (Better than your entire world), quoting poet Muhammad Iqbal. His words united the nation and grew to turn out to be a image of India’s ambition.

Personnel Captain Shubhanshu Shukla: The Subsequent Big identify in India’s Space Saga

Personnel Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-300 and sixty five days-faded Indian Air Power test pilot, will turn out to be the 2d Indian to whisk to space in 2025. His Axiom-4 mission will stumble on him exhaust 14 days aboard the World Space Role (ISS), orbiting Earth at an altitude of about 400 km (250 miles). This mission is a principal milestone for India’s space programme, particularly as it prepares for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first indigenous human spaceflight in 2026. On the ISS, Shukla will behavior 12 scientific experiments, along with seven designed by ISRO and 5 in collaboration with NASA. The ISRO experiments encompass studying how methi (fenugreek) and moong (green gram) sprout in microgravity, which could encourage make meals programs for future space missions. Assorted ISRO experiments will focal level on biomedical research, materials science, and Earth commentary, aiming to attain how microgravity affects human well being, self-discipline matter properties, and India’s land and coastal ecosystems. The 5 NASA-collaborative experiments will stumble on fluid dynamics in microgravity, plant biology, radiation results on human tissues, superior materials trying out, and space climate monitoring, contributing to world space research and future deep-space missions.

Shukla will additionally preserve two dwell events, connecting with Indian college students to encourage younger minds to pursue science and space exploration. A fighter pilot with over 2,000 hours of flying expertise on airplane devour the Su-30 MKI and MiG-21, Shukla brings potential and self-discipline to the mission. Mentored by Rakesh Sharma, he says, “I would possibly be travelling alone, but here's the whisk of 1.4 billion other folks.” His mission will encourage India grasp space operations, paving the technique for Gaganyaan and India’s purpose of building its absorb space tell by 2035.

Why These Missions Topic

Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission put India on the realm space diagram when ISRO was once valid beginning out. It showed that India could function excessive despite restricted resources. His experiments helped diagram India’s resources, and his words united the nation. Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission is ready building India’s future in space. His 12 experiments, along with the 5 with NASA, will encourage ISRO improve spacecraft and programs for *Gaganyaan* and beyond, inviting India from symbolic missions to good expertise.

Every missions highlight India’s spirit of collaboration. Sharma labored with the Soviet Union, and Shukla companions with NASA and Axiom Space. These partnerships trace that space exploration is ready working collectively for humanity’s progress. For younger Indians, these reviews are a call to dream big. From Sharma’s MiG-21 cockpit to Shukla’s SpaceX Dragon, they point out that braveness and curiosity can take you to the celebs.

A Name to Attain for the Stars

As we honour Flit Commander Rakesh Sharma’s ancient flight and cheer for Personnel Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s upcoming whisk, let’s remember what makes their reviews particular. They're no longer valid astronauts—they're symbols of India’s ambition and hope. Sharma’s “Saare Jahan Se Achcha” aloof resonates, and Shukla’s mission will encourage the following expertise to function excessive. Let’s enhance ISRO’s vision, encourage our children to embody science, and judge that India’s future in space is as huge because the universe itself.

The Distinction Between Salyut 7 and the ISS

The Salyut 7 space tell, the place Rakesh Sharma labored, and the World Space Role (ISS), the place Shubhanshu Shukla will preserve, are devour numerous properties in space. Salyut 7, constructed by the Soviet Union and active from 1982 to 1991, was once small, about the size of a bus, orbiting at 250–300 km above Earth. It was once designed for about a cosmonauts to dwell and work for brief sessions, with total labs for experiments. It was once basically frail by Soviet crews, with guests devour Sharma from numerous countries.

The ISS, launched in 1998 and aloof active, is a worthy greater, favorite space tell, devour a giant dwelling orbiting at 400 km above Earth. Constructed and elope by more than one countries—USA, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada—it’s as big as a football self-discipline and may dwelling as a lot as seven astronauts. The ISS has superior labs for experiments in biology, physics, and more, plus facilities devour gyms and better living spaces. Whereas Salyut 7 was once a Soviet challenge for brief missions, the ISS is a world teamwork effort for long-interval of time research, making it a hub for cutting-edge science and world cooperation.