'Learning Like a Baby, Sleeping a Lot': Here's What Shubhanshu Shukla Said In His First Message From Space

Axiom-4 Mission: India's second man in space, the 39-year-old Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla delivered his first message from orbit today. "I am learning like a baby; how to walk and eat in space," said Shukla highlighting the difficulties astronauts have to face in space.

The Indian Air Force Pilot, Shukla, is one of the four crew members of the Axiom-4 mission that took off for the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday at exactly, 12:01 pm from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft "Grace."

Shubhanshu's First Message From Orbit

 "Hello everyone, namaskar from space. I am thrilled to be here with my fellow astronauts. Wow, what a ride it was. When I was sitting in the capsule on the launchpad, the only thought in my mind was: let's just go. When the ride started, it was something - you getting pushed back in the seat. It was an amazing ride. And then suddenly nothing. You are floating in vacuum," said Shubhanshu peacefully seated inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft aircraft.

"I am learning like a baby; how to walk and eat in space," he added, recalling the surreal feeling.

"I was not feeling very great when we got shot into the vacuum, but I have been told I am sleeping a lot since yesterday," admitted Shukla while strapped on his seat.

Axiom-4 Mission

Shubhanshu is one of the four astronauts on the mission, alongside Commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and veteran of three previous missions, and mission specialists Hungary's Tibor Kapu and Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski.

The successful launch, which was a historic feat for India, marking the second time an Indian went to space after a 41-year break, was witnessed by Shukla's family and thousands of well-wishers across India.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from the LC-39A pad, the same launch pad from which Apollo 11 embarked on its mission to the Moon in July 1969, making the Ax-4 an even more momentous journey to space. 

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