Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who is on board the Dragon spacecraft, described his mind-bending experience of getting used to life in microgravity as being like a child learning everything afresh.
Talking through videolink from space on Thursday, he compared the dreamlike state of floating in the vacuum as the spacecraft circled Earth en route to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
Looking back at the days before launch, Shukla reported he had spent 30 days in quarantine before the Axiom-4 mission departed on Wednesday. "The only thing going through my mind was to just let us go," he said, speaking to his anticipation of finally taking off after weeks of quarantine from the excitement below.
Shukla, along with three fellow astronauts, embarked on the mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. They launched aboard the Dragon spacecraft, which was carried into orbit by the Falcon-9 rocket. The crew is set to spend 14 days on the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 commercial mission, with docking scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Recalling his feelings during liftoff, Shukla told, "Wow, what a ride it was. Frankly speaking, when I was sitting in the capsule Grace, yesterday on the launchpad, the only thought that was there was let's just go. For 30 days of quarantine, it was a feeling that I just wanted to go. Excitement and all was far, far away. There was just this feeling that let us just leave."
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, just renamed by the astronauts "Grace," also has aboard the toy swan "Joy," the mission's zero-gravity indicator and the unofficial fifth member of the Axiom-4 crew.
Remembering the vigorous physical sensations during liftoff, Shukla described feeling the force of gravity pushing him hard into his seat. "But as soon as the ride began, it was something. You were getting pushed back in the seat. It was a fantastic ride and then suddenly nothing. It was all quiet and you were just floating. You were unbuckled and just floating in the quietness of vacuum," he explained.
Although the initial few minutes outside of Earth's atmosphere were confusing, Shukla explained that the feeling changed rapidly to an experience he would never forget. "It was an incredible feeling," he said.
He added that his crewmates had teased him about how much he slept upon arrival to space.
"I am getting used to it very well. I am having fun, enjoying the vistas, enjoying the experience and learning like a baby. Learning the new steps, learning to walk, learning to control yourself, learning to eat. It's just so exciting," Shukla said.
Speaking about his initial time in space, he highlighted how exciting and humbling it has been. "It is a new environment, a new challenge and I am really enjoying this experience with my fellow astronauts here. It is good to make mistakes, but it is better to see somebody else do that too. So it has been a fun time," he explained.
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