Gp Capt. Shukla shares experience of life aboard ISS with students

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had a brief interaction with students who had gathered at the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) here on Friday. He interacted with the student community via ham radio which lasted about 10 minutes.

The interaction overseen by the Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) saw the participation of approximately 70 students who posed questions on the Indian astronauts journey to the space station and daily routine in the orbiting laboratory.

“One-and-a-half days (journey to the ISS) and thereafter you get to see the ISS… It was very exciting to see and the entire process of how the capsule approaches the station and then positions itself right in line with the docking port and thereafter goes ahead and docks into the port. It was a very, very exciting moment for me,” Gp Capt. Shukla said replying to a question.

His Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS) was launched on June 25, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a 28-and-a-half-hour journey on the ISS Dragon spacecraft, Gp Capt. Shukla and other crew members reached ISS.

He also spoke about the complex docking process. “So when we landed in the space station, there were two crew members who were able to reach the docking port. And thereafter you get to see the International Space Station, which is going to be your home for the next 14 days,” he said.

The Gp Capt. also spoke about the experiments he has been conducting in the space station and how sleeping is a challenge there. “We have to tie our sleeping bags,” he said.