 "Ax-4 Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla (left) and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu enjoying views of Earth from the cupola | Photo:AX-4 MISSION")
The name ‘Shux’. Orbital flight number 634. Sleeping quarters: Dragon. And on the menu: Gajar ka halwa, moong dal halwa, and aam ras. These personal details, both technical and cultural, could soon take their place in history books as symbols of India’s return to human spaceflight, after a 41-year break.
Orbiting some 400 kilometres above Earth’s surface at a speed of 8 kilometres per second, completing 16 orbits a day, Shubhanshu Shukla — ‘Shux’ to his crewmates — is now firmly embedded in the rhythms of life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). His first seven days on the Axiom
