Ahead of his historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has termed the preparations for the Axiom-4 mission as an "amazing journey" and that he was extremely fortunate to be part of something that is "much larger than yourself".
The 39-year-old Indian Air Force pilot is all set to travel with three other crew members to the ISS onboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket, that will lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Tuesday at 5:52 pm IST.
Shukla, who goes by the nickname "Shux", will be the second Indian to travel to space, 41 years after his idol Rakesh Sharma undertook a spaceflight in 1984 onboard erstwhile Soviet Union's Soyuz spacecraft for an eight-day stay in orbit.
"It has been an amazing journey; these are the moments that really tell you that you are getting to be a part of something that is much larger than yourself. I can only say how extremely fortunate I am to be a part of this," Lucknow-born Shukla said in a short video issued by Axiom Space ahead of Tuesday's launch.
Shukla's crewmates, commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, describe him as "operational-savvy", "focussed" and "wicked smart" when it comes to space technologies.
"Shux's wisdom, the knowledge he possesses, shows he could be 130 years old," said Kapu, the second Hungarian astronaut to travel to space since 1980.
"For me, having him as my pilot in the dragon capsule is great. He is already operational-savvy, and he is just wicked smart when it comes to spacecraft technologies," said Whitson, a veteran US astronaut who has spent 675 days in space and undertaken 10 spacewalks.
Slawosz said Shukla is very focussed in his approach and quick to respond to situations.
"He is very focussed. He will go one, two, three, four in record time. I don't even know how he gets there so fast," the Polish astronaut said.
Shukla heaped high praise on his crewmates, describing them as a "fantastic" squad, saying they would be his "friends for life".
SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket and the Dragon space capsule were rolled out to the launchpad 39A at the KSC in Florida on Saturday. The Axiom-4 (or Ax-4) crew checked on the spacecraft they will travel in to the ISS.
"Launch is targeted for 8:22 am ET, with a backup opportunity available on Wednesday, June 11 at 8:00 am ET," SpaceX announced in an update about the mission.
The Axiom Space video also showcases Shukla's journey from being a child to becoming an astronaut and being chosen for the ambitious space mission.
"This journey that I am on...it has been a long one for me. It started out somewhere I didn't know that this is the path it is going to finally take," Shukla said.
"I would say that I am extremely fortunate and extremely lucky to have got opportunities to first fly all my life, which is a dream job for me, and then to have the opportunity to apply for the astronaut corps, and now be here," he said.
Shukla said that, like his idol Rakesh Sharma, he would also like to inspire the next generation to take up space science as a career and strive to become an astronaut.
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