BENGALURU: “I am learning everything like a baby. Learning how to take baby steps, how to walk, and how to eat in the capsule,” said India’s Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla from the Dragon spacecraft Grace on Thursday morning before the spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS).
The four astronauts —Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of the human spaceflight mission Axiom-4 from the US, along with Shukla and mission specialists Stawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary — shared videos and images of them sharing light moments in the spacecraft. They interacted with their respective countrymen from the spacecraft in their native language.
The mission was launched on June 25, 2025, after multiple delays, at 12.01am IST from Launch Complex 39A of Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
In a monologue communication with all countrymen, Shukla said, “After a month-long quarantine, I started from the location where the Apollo Moon Mission had launched. The Tricolour that I carry on my shoulder is constantly reminding me that I am not alone.” Shukla also greeted all Indians in Hindi, just as he had on Day 1, soon after the launch of the mission.
Adding on, he said, “My first thoughts when I got into the capsule was, let’s just leave. Let’s just go. And, when the ride started, the seat was pushed back because of the pressure, and after a while there was nothing. Just silence and vacuum. It took me some time to get used to it, but now I and all of us (all astronauts) have acclimatised,” he said.
“All of them say I have been sleeping a lot, which is a good thing. It is good to make mistakes, and it’s even nice to see others do the same,” he added.
Shukla is the mission pilot of the commercial crewed mission where the astronauts will spend 14 days on the ISS.
The astronauts shared videos of their floating swan-shaped soft toy, Joy. They also shared a video of tying it up, as it was floating everywhere all the time in the capsule. “These moments in the capsule are precious, and it is nice to do things together,” they echoed. They also shared images of them crossing over Europe and their respective countries. The spacecraft Dragon had crossed over the Indian Ocean at 6.18 am ET (3.48 pm IST).
