Kwatra termed India's successful launch of an American communication satellite on Wednesday as a 'very important and big day' for partnership between Washington and New Delhi, saying it caps a series of achievements in 2025 in bilateral space cooperation between the countries.
Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station, received a hero's welcome in his hometown of Lucknow. Celebrations included family, supporters, a roadshow, and recognition from government officials.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India's second astronaut, shares his journey from a shy child hearing stories of Rakesh Sharma to becoming part of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station. He emphasizes the role of the IAF in his transformation and inspires India's youth to explore space.
The Axiom-4 mission, marking the return to space for India, Hungary and Poland, blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 pm on Wednesday.
India's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the 634th astronaut to travel to space as he entered the International Space Station on Thursday after a 28-hour journey.
The mission was originally scheduled for lift-off on May 29 but was put off multiple times when engineers detected a liquid oxygen leak in the boosters of the Falcon-9 rocket and NASA also detected leaks in the ageing Russian module of the ISS.
'The solution is to replace, clean up, retest and proceed.' 'There is nothing to worry about if corrected.'
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Shukla says Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma -- the first Indian to travel to space --has been advising him about the space flight.
Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry award, in August this year for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft was hit by a major technical problem last year.
Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha that all efforts were being made to save IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, who was on life support at the military hospital in Wellington.
His ongoing Indian Premier League duty prevented Sachin Tendulkar from accepting a request for a personal meeting with a large group of wheel-chair bound soldiers in Pune, but the champion batsman interacted with them via a video conference on Friday, prior to his 38th birthday on Sunday.
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