‘Never nervous’: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's father on son's selection as ‘prime Gaganyatri’ for Space Station
On Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla would be the prime pilot for the mission to the ISS.
Shambhu Dayal Shukla, the father of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, who has been chosen as the 'prime Gaganyaatri' for the first Indo-US collaborative mission to the International Space Station (ISS), expressed that their family has “never been nervous” about his son. He said they always maintain a positive outlook and wished for the mission's success.
On Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Shukla would be the prime pilot for the mission to the ISS. Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair has been selected as the 'backup Gaganyatri' (backup pilot) for the mission.
“Neither we nor our son is nervous. We don't think negatively, and we just believe in God. We are becoming happier as our son is achieving more success,” Shukla's father told the PTI news agency.
“I wish this mission to be successful. Initially, I resisted him joining the armed forces and hoped he would enter civil service, but when he was selected without my knowledge, I didn't oppose it. When we got the news, nothing could match that moment, and when the Prime Minister gave him the badge, we knew we would never forget that moment. We never think negatively; it's all God's will, and everything happens for the good,” he told news agency ANI.
Shubhanshu Shukla's mother, Usha Shukla, shared that Shubhanshu has always been brilliant, even as a child.
“We are so happy that it has no limits. But there is some nervousness as well when we hear things about the mission. Yesterday, he left for the US, where he will receive training. Everyone in the family is happy. He has been brilliant since childhood and works hard,” she said.
ISRO-NASA effort to the ISS
Last year in June, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official state visit, India and the US signed a joint statement envisioning a collaborative ISRO-NASA mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Gaganyatri will perform selected scientific research, technology demonstration experiments, and space outreach activities on the ISS during the mission.
The mission's experiences will enhance India's Human Space Program and strengthen ISRO-NASA human space flight cooperation.
To achieve the joint ISRO-NASA mission goal, ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) has signed a Space Flight Agreement (SFA) with NASA's identified service provider Axiom Space Inc, USA, for the upcoming Axiom-4 mission to the ISS.
The National Mission Assignment Board has recommended Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as the prime Mission Pilot and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as the backup Mission Pilot for the mission. ISRO announced that the selected Gaganyatris would start their mission training in the first week of August.
The Gaganyaan project aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and safely returning them to Earth, landing in Indian sea waters. The four astronauts were trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia.
Extensive preparations are ongoing at various ISRO centres for India's first human space flight program, the Gaganyaan mission.