Eager to become a space superpower, India is sending its 1st astronaut to space in 4 decades

The months leading up to the launch of Axiom Mission 4, a private space flight to the International Space Station carrying four astronauts from four different countries, were filled with intense preparation at the company’s base in Houston. 

For the crew’s pilot, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, the anticipation grew exponentially as he prepared to become the first Indian to go to space in 41 years. 

“It’s a monumental event for me as an individual and our country as a whole,” Shukla, 39, told CBC News in an interview before the mission’s launch, which is scheduled for Thursday.

That he was the one who would be returning India to space hit him in certain moments, he said during a break in training, especially when he first tried on his spacesuit. 

“I saw that Indian flag on my shoulder,” Shukla, whose call sign is Shuks, said with a smile. “You think about this … how big this is.” 

The space flight, which is being operated by Houston-based Axiom Space with the support of NASA and the India Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is emblematic of a new era. Countries can hitch rides from commercial companies to get their astronauts into space, where they can conduct experiments sponsored by national space agencies, rather than those agencies spending time and money building their own rockets.

It fits neatly into India’s ambitions to rapidly expand its space prowess and use the private sector to get there.

‘A huge responsibility’

After several delays due to weather and equipment issues, the latest Axiom mission is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida this Thursday. The astronauts will be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule launched into space by Falcon 9 rocket. 

The crew, which is led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and also includes astronauts from Poland and Hungary, will spend two weeks conducting experiments at the International Space Station.

Shukla will become only the second Indian national to go to space, following in the footsteps of cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, who orbited the Earth for eight days in 1984 on a Soviet spacecraft.

“It’s a huge responsibility to inspire an entire young generation through my mission [and to] carry the hopes and dreams of a billion hearts,” Shukla said. 

Indian news outlets reported that Shukla will carry a bit of India into space with him on the flight, including delicacies such as mango nectar, moong dal halwa and carrot halwa.

Until recently, India’s space activity was controlled by ISRO, but in 2023, the space agency opened up its facilities to private companies, and investments poured in. The country has more than 250 space startups attracting millions of dollars. 

“India is aspiring to become a very important player in the space industry,” said Somak Raychaudhury, astrophysicist and vice-chancellor of Ashoka University in Sonipat, Haryana, close to Delhi. “And it realizes it has to use the private sector.” 

Big challenges

The country’s leaders are convinced that having a successful space program not only brings soft power and prestige but also wealth. 

But there are big challenges ahead, according to Raychaudhury.

India is one of the five major players in space exploration, yet its share of the global market is only two per cent. The South Asian nation wants to get that up to 10 per cent in the next decade. 

The country produces a lot of highly skilled engineers, but “very few of them stay in this kind of sector,” Raychaudhury said.

Even holding only a tiny percentage of the global space market, there are already numerous benefits to India’s economy from its $8 billion US slice of the industry and the 100,000 people it employs, he said.

Big ambitions

But the country is aiming even higher. 

In August 2023, the Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully sent a rover to the notoriously difficult-to-reach dark side of the moon to explore its south pole — a world first. 

Its first human space flight, called Gaganyaan, is planned for next year. It aims to send several Indian astronauts into low Earth orbit for three days. 

That would make India only the fourth nation, after the United States, Russia and China, to have its own human space flight program. 

The success of that mission will be key, said Raychaudhury.

“India’s space industry has a record of being very frugal,” the professor said, with projects coming in far cheaper than the space programs in the United States, Russia or China. 

“The question is whether the same quality can be achieved or not.” 

The Chandrayaan-3 mission, for example, heralded as a big win for India, cost less than the price of a single Boeing or Airbus plane. 

Mars and Venus also in India’s sights

In May, speaking at a global space conference in New Delhi, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, laid out more plans, including building the country’s own space station to orbit Earth within the next decade.

The country’s space agency is focused on exploring the moon, with the goal of sending an Indian astronaut to walk on the surface by 2040. 

“Mars and Venus are also on our radar,” Modi promised in his speech. 

He ended his remarks by highlighting how space exploration has the power to “inspire future generations” and push the country to “dream together.” 

Students inspired

Those dreams were on full display at a Mumbai school one morning in May as hundreds of children used cardboard and plastic rods to build their own mini rockets, barely longer than their forearms. 

The children spent time learning about India’s upcoming space projects before launching the toy rockets outside. 

“It was so much fun,” nine-year old Reet Dhameja exclaimed, pointing to how far her mini-rocket flew.

Another classmate, aspiring scientist Aarav Sanghvi, took pains to make sure his rocket was perfect. 

“I want to be an engineer of space,” the 10-year-old said. “To create bigger rockets for India.” 

But asked if he wants to go into space himself, he shook his head firmly.

“I want to make rockets. I don’t want to be an astronaut.”

That sentiment is precisely what the school programs are focused on, said event organizer Rajesh Ghangurde, president of Antariksh Society, an outreach group that promotes space exploration. 

“When we talk to the students, we tell them there are only 10 astronauts who go to space,” he said. “[But] there are 10,000 minds or hands working to make that thing happen.”