Axiom 4 Mission: Shubhanshu Shukla and team enter orbit, set to dock with the International Space Station today
Shukla, known as ‘Shux’ among his team, will have a crucial role in the docking process at the ISS.
The Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian Air Force Group Captain and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, is scheduled to dock at the International Space Station on Thursday. After nearly a month of delays, the Ax-4 crew successfully launched into space on June 25 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. The Falcon-9 rocket and Dragon capsule lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The docking on June 26 will officially begin the crew’s 14-day mission.
Shubhanshu Shukla, who is the mission’s pilot, is part of the Ax-4 crew along with three others: Commander Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Mission Specialists Sawosz Uznaski-Winiewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
NASA, along with Axiom Space and SpaceX, stated that the Dragon spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station around 7 AM EST (4:30 PM IST) on Thursday, June 26. They mentioned that the spacecraft would connect on its own to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
Shukla, nicknamed ‘Shux’ by his team, has an important role in the docking process at the ISS. As the mission pilot, he will be responsible for keeping track of the spacecraft’s path, speed, and the space station’s movement as the Dragon spacecraft gets ready to dock.
After a successful docking, the Axiom-4 crew will conduct about 60 experiments related to microgravity. Out of these, Shubhanshu Shukla will be performing around seven.
NASA also said that it is working with ISRO on five joint science projects and two in-orbit demonstrations related to science, technology, engineering, and math.
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