Thiruvananthapuram

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who is part of India’s Gaganyaan programme, on Saturday said that teamwork is the single most important factor in executing a space mission, as he briefly detailed his experience at the ISS and his journey to and from it.

Addressing students at the Government Model High School here, Shukla said he conducted several experiments on the International Space Station, including a study on rice seeds carried from Kerala.

He told the students that in space, everything floats, and the planet feels like home from up there.

Shukla, a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force and a test pilot, said he grew 5 to 6 centimetres while at the ISS, but upon returning to Earth, his spine was “compressed” by gravity.

“When I came back, I found it very difficult to sit down. I couldn’t even walk a step. It took me about eight days to clear medical check-ups,” he said.

Shukla said he was proud to have had the opportunity to represent India on an international platform.

He added that it is now his endeavour to ensure that more children from India get similar opportunities.

The astronaut said he wanted to share his journey and the lessons learned during his space mission.

“It is an endeavour to talk about the mission, explain the complexity of human space missions, and inspire the next generation to pursue these challenging careers, which will benefit both them and the country,” he told reporters outside the school.

While addressing the students, he said that spaceflight was no longer an unattainable dream.

He added that after returning from space, he wanted to convey one message: “The sky is never the limit.”

Shukla undertook an 18-day mission on the ISS in June–July last year, becoming the first Indian to visit the orbital lab. Earlier, astronaut Rakesh Sharma had travelled to the Soviet space station Salyut-7 in 1984.

Recalling his journey to the ISS, Shukla said that as a pilot with 20 years of experience, he felt prepared for the launch as he sat inside the rocket.

“But when the ignition happened, when the nine rocket engines fired, it was so powerful—beyond anything I could imagine—that I forgot everything I thought I knew. I was completely blank in those few seconds,” he said.

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He said the feeling was similar to that of a student seeing a question paper despite having prepared well for an exam.

Shukla added that as the rocket lifts off, the chest is pushed back, and upon reaching space, there is absolute silence.