Axiom 4 mission: Shubhanshu Shukla will take 28 hours to leave from Earth and connect with ISS due to….

India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has started his trip to the International Space Station (ISS) under Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. But do you know why it will take Shubhanshu Shukla about 28 hours to reach the ISS in this journey?

Shubhanshu Shukla after 10 minutes into spaceflight said, “Namaskar, my dear countrymen; we have reached space after 41 years. It was a great ride. We are orbiting earth at a speed of 7.5 km per second, I have Indian tricolour on my shoulders.”

Reason for 28 hour journey

The International Space Station (ISS) is orbiting at a speed of 28000 kilometers per hour in a low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 400 kilometers from the Earth. It is a moving target, with which the spacecraft has to meet precisely. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft carrying Shubhanshu Shukla takes 28 hours for this journey. There are many technical and scientific reasons behind this…

Orbit Adjustment

The ISS orbits Earth at high speed in a fixed orbit. The Dragon spacecraft must gradually adjust its orbit after launch to keep pace with the ISS’s orbit. This process is called ‘phasing maneuvers’, in which the spacecraft repeatedly balances its altitude and speed. Dragon’s 16 Draco thrusters, which generate 90 pounds of force in space, help in this.

Docking with the ISS is a very precise and complex process. The spacecraft has to perfectly match the speed and position of the ISS. Any mistake during this time can be dangerous. Therefore, Dragon slowly approaches the ISS to ensure a safe docking. After launch, it takes another 1-2 hours to stabilize the spacecraft and perform safety checks, which include checking for air pressure and gas leaks.

X’s Dragon spacecraft is relatively new, first launched in 2012. In comparison, Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, which has been used since the 1960s, can reach the ISS in just 8 hours. The Soyuz’s long history and mathematical models make it faster. For Dragon, SpaceX is still developing mathematical models for launch times and phasing maneuvers, which make the trip longer.

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