This is his moment, and I want all the attention to be on him.
Forty-one years after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to leave Earth, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on June 10, bound for the International Space Station — carrying forward a legacy while stepping into an era of spaceflight Sharma could only have imagined. The mission is not merely a national milestone but a reflection of how human curiosity, once sparked, compounds across generations: Shukla will spend 14 days conducting 60 scientific studies alongside researchers from 31 countries, extending work that began with yoga in microgravity aboard a Soviet station now long decommissioned. Sharma himself has stepped aside gracefully, insisting the attention belongs to the next generation — a quiet act of wisdom that may be as significant as any rocket launch.
- For four decades, a single Indian had ever reached space — now that solitude is about to end, and the weight of 41 years of national pride rests on one mission.
- Shukla will nearly double Sharma's duration in orbit, fly on a brand-new capsule making its maiden voyage, and dock with a space station of incomparably greater sophistication.
- Seven Indian research institutes have designed experiments for the mission, from muscle regeneration to space farming, embedding India's scientific ambitions directly into the ISS's most research-intensive Axiom flight yet.
- Sharma, now 76, has reached out personally to Shukla with his blessing — and is deliberately stepping out of the spotlight, urging the world to let this be the younger man's moment.
- The mission lands India inside a web of 31 collaborating nations, signaling that its space program is no longer a guest at the table but a contributor shaping the agenda.
Rakesh Sharma was 35 when he became the first Indian to leave Earth on April 2, 1984, spending just under eight days aboard the Soviet station Salyut-7. When asked from orbit how India looked from space, he offered words that lodged themselves in national memory: "Saare jahan se accha." For 41 years, he carried that distinction alone.
Now 76, Sharma is preparing to share it. On June 10, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla — 39 years old, an Indian Air Force test pilot — will launch from Kennedy Space Centre aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon, becoming the first Indian to reach the International Space Station. He will stay 14 days, nearly double Sharma's record, and conduct research on a platform of a sophistication Sharma never had access to. Sharma reached out to Shukla directly when the countdown began. "This is his moment," Sharma told ThePrint, "and I want all the attention to be on him."
Shukla's path echoes Sharma's in its demands. Like his predecessor, he is a test pilot who survived a grueling selection process. But the scientific scope of his mission dwarfs anything from 1984. Seven Indian research institutes have designed experiments for his stay — covering muscle regeneration, space farming, and microalgae growth — embedded within Axiom 4's nearly 60 studies representing 31 countries. It is the most research-intensive mission Axiom Space has ever flown to the ISS. He will be joined by Mission Commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists from Poland and Hungary.
The distance between the two missions is more than technological. Sharma rode a Soviet rocket to a station now decommissioned; Shukla will fly in a brand-new Crew Dragon capsule on its maiden flight. Shukla has promised to bring a surprise gift to orbit in Sharma's honor — a gesture that names the debt without dwelling on it. Sharma, for his part, reflected recently that from space, the borders between countries become a blur. That observation, made from a Cold War-era Soviet platform, will find new expression aboard a laboratory built by dozens of nations working together — and tended, now, by an Indian who carries the torch forward.
Rakesh Sharma was 35 when he strapped into the Soyuz T-11 rocket on April 2, 1984, and became the first Indian to leave the planet. For four decades, he held that distinction alone—the sole Indian who had ever crossed the boundary between Earth and space. He spent seven days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes aboard the Soviet space station Salyut-7, peering down at his country through a window and offering words that would echo through Indian memory: "Saare jahan se accha"—the whole world is beautiful, but my country is the best.
Now, at 76, Sharma is ready to share that singular honor. On June 10, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will launch from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station. Shukla, 39, will become the first Indian to reach the ISS—a more advanced orbital platform than anything Sharma knew—and he will stay for 14 days, nearly double Sharma's duration. When Sharma learned of the countdown, he reached out to Shukla directly. "I am in touch with Shubhanshu," Sharma told ThePrint. "He knows my wishes are with him. My mission has been spoken about for 41 years. I am grateful for that love and attention, but this is his moment, and I want all the attention to be on him."
The path to Sharma's 1984 flight began two years earlier, when India and the Soviet Union agreed under their Intercosmos Programme to send an Indian into space. Sharma was a test pilot with the Indian Air Force—a credential that made him eligible. But eligibility was not selection. He competed against more than 150 candidates, enduring years of training that pushed his body to its limits: high G-force exposure, sensory deprivation, cardiovascular and vestibular stress tests designed to break the unprepared. When he finally reached Salyut-7, the ordeal felt justified. He performed yoga in microgravity—a first for any human—and gathered data on how muscles respond to weightlessness, contributing to the field of space medicine in ways that rippled through the decades.
Shukla will carry forward that scientific mission with far greater scope. Seven Indian research institutes have designed experiments for his 14-day stay, ranging from muscle regeneration to space farming and the growth patterns of microalgae. The Axiom 4 Mission itself encompasses nearly 60 scientific studies representing 31 countries: the United States, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, and nations across Europe. It is the most research-intensive mission ever flown by Axiom Space to the ISS. Shukla will not travel alone. Mission Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary will accompany him. Prashant B. Nair, Shukla's colleague, serves as backup.
The technology separating the two missions tells its own story. Sharma rode a Soviet spacecraft to a second-generation space station that is now decommissioned. Shukla will fly in the Crew Dragon C213, a brand-new capsule on its maiden flight, docking with the ISS—a continuously inhabited orbital laboratory that has operated for more than two decades. The advancement is not merely mechanical; it represents the evolution of human spaceflight itself, the accumulation of knowledge and capability that Sharma helped pioneer.
Shukla has promised to carry a "surprise gift" to space in honor of Sharma—a gesture that acknowledges the debt and the continuity. Sharma, speaking at the Global Space Exploration Conference in Delhi last month, reflected on what space had taught him: "When you look at Earth from space, it seems like the borders between countries become a blur." That observation, made 41 years ago from a Soviet station, will find new resonance in the experiments Shukla conducts aboard an international platform, in collaboration with scientists from across the globe. The torch is passing not from one person to another, but from one era of spaceflight to the next.
Citas Notables
When you look at Earth from space, it seems like the borders between countries become a blur.— Rakesh Sharma, at the Global Space Exploration Conference in Delhi
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Sharma seem so genuinely eager to step aside? He held this record alone for four decades.
Because he understands what Shukla is about to do is bigger than what he did. Sharma's mission was historic because it was first. Shukla's mission is historic because it's more advanced, longer, and part of a global scientific effort. Sharma has had 41 years to be the sole Indian in space. He's ready for India to have two.
What was the actual difficulty of Sharma's training? You mention the tests, but what did that really mean?
They were simulating the extremes his body would face. High G-forces to prepare for launch and re-entry. Sensory deprivation to test psychological resilience. Cardiovascular stress to see if his heart could handle the shock. He competed against 150 other candidates. Most didn't make it through.
And Shukla will be doing this on a spacecraft that's never flown before—the Crew Dragon C213 on its first mission.
Yes. It's a different kind of risk. Sharma flew proven Soviet technology. Shukla is flying cutting-edge American technology that has never carried humans. But that's also the point—spaceflight has evolved. The ISS is more sophisticated than Salyut-7 ever was. The science is more ambitious.
The yoga in space—that seems like an odd detail to emphasize.
It's not odd at all. Sharma was the first person in the world to do it. That single act generated data about how muscles behave in microgravity. It was both symbolic and scientific. Shukla will be conducting experiments on muscle regeneration. There's a direct line between what Sharma discovered and what Shukla will study.
What does the "surprise gift" mean, do you think?
It's acknowledgment. Shukla is saying: I know what you did, I respect it, and I'm carrying that forward. It's not competition. It's inheritance.