India's Space Saga Reignites After 41 Years

Shukla Soars: Second Man In Space, First To ISS

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NEW DELHI: The cosmic thrill that enchanted the nation 41 years ago was back on Wednesday as India's Shubhanshu Shukla scripted history by embarking on a space odyssey along with three others from different nations to their celestial destination—the International Space Station (ISS).

It was in 1984 when Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma, aboard a Soviet spacecraft on a frozen Kazakh morning, a young Indian Air Force officer felt the rumble beneath his seat with the roar of the Soyuz T-11 engines rising like a storm. In minutes, he was hurtling past Earth's fragile veil, becoming the first Indian to pierce the bounds of space.

India scripted its next space chapter as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla soared into orbit—the second Indian ever to do so, and the first on a mission to the ISS.

Born in 1985, a year after Rakesh Sharma's historic flight, Shukla grew up not just under the stars—but aiming for them. Shubhanshu Shukla soared into space alongside three astronauts from three different nations, embarking on a mission to live and work aboard the International Space Station.