Bengaluru, November 22: India will soon send its citizens to space aboard a fully indigenous rocket and crew capsule, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said on Thursday, highlighting the rapid expansion of the country’s private and public space ecosystem.
Shukla, who recently returned from the commercial Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS), told the Bengaluru Tech Summit that India’s space capabilities were advancing quickly as domestic companies and research institutions deepen their participation in national missions.
Shukla served as mission pilot on Ax-4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, spending 18 days in orbit before returning to Earth on July 15. During the mission he conducted seven microgravity experiments and experienced the physical stresses of space travel, including enduring up to eight G-forces during launch and coping with balance loss and muscle weakening in microgravity.
“India’s space sector already has more than 300 active start-ups capable of contributing to future missions,” he said. “The next phase must be a collective effort involving students, innovators and policymakers from across the country.”
Describing the physical realities of spaceflight, Shukla said astronauts must relearn to walk after returning to Earth and readjust to gravity after rapid body and muscle mass loss in space.
Shukla said India appeared “beautiful and brightly lit” from orbit, with Bengaluru among the most striking sights. He urged young innovators to help drive India toward becoming a developed nation by 2047. “Sky was never the limit — not for me, not for you, and not for Bharat,” he said.
Karnataka IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge, who attended the event, joked about the city’s traffic congestion, saying Shukla found it “easier to travel from space to Earth than from Marathahalli to the BIEC,” and pledged improvements to Bengaluru’s infrastructure.
