Rakesh Sharma, since his historic journey in space, after 41 long years, India is finally returning to the universe. This time, it is the Group captain Shubhinu Shukla from the Indian Air Force, which will pilot the Axiom Mission 4 (AX-4) at the International Space Station on June 10, 2025. But behind this important achievement, there is an engineering miracle that has revolutionized the Space Travel-Spacee Falcon 9 Human-Retched Vehicle.
A rocket that changed everything
Falcon 9 Block 5 is not just another rocket; It is the world’s most reliable launch vehicle today. By 04 June 2025, Falcon 9 achieved 482 out of 485 full mission successes (99.4%), with Block 5 to 99.8% (428/429) success rate. To keep it in perspective, when you book a flight ticket, you do not worry about the crash of the aircraft because commercial aviation has 99.99% security records. Falcon 9 is now reaching the same levels of reliability for space travel.
It is even more notable that crew dragon, including Falcon 9 rockets and Associated Ground System, is the first new, the first new, the first new, the first new, the first new to be nashed for regular flights with spacecraft since space shuttle. When NASA gives its human-painting certification, it means that the rocket has made the most stringent security tests possible.
Why Falcon 9 is perfect for Self -Eminent 4
For Axiom 4, the option of Falcon 9 Block 5 is not only practical – this is necessary. The Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and astronaut, Shubanshu Shukla will be pilot on the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), who will become the first Indian to visit the ISS. The bets cannot be too much.
The AX-4 research supplement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the US, India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates and countries. This is not just any space mission – this is the most ambitious research mission in the history of Axiom space, and it requires a rocket system that will not allow 31 countries to be worthy of scientific hopes.
Falcon 9’s re -purpose factor is also important. As of 04 June 2025, SpaceX has successfully launched Falcon 9 Booster 441 times. Individual boosters have flew many in the form of 28 flights. This proven track records of landing and re -use boosters means that the self -federation 4 launch rockets have been tested several times before, adding another layer of reliability.
India’s huge jump ahead
For India, this mission represents much more than sending an astronaut into space. Shukla is honored and encouraged as he prepares the International Space Station (ISS) to pilot the historic AXIOM Mission 4 (AX-4), leaving an indelible mark on India’s remarkable progress in human space exploration.
Time is perfect. ISRO has officially declared 2025 as the ‘Year of Gaganan’, making Shukla’s mission more important on time. Shukla’s experience on ISS will directly benefit India’s Gaganan program, which will give ISRO an invaluable first-hand data about human spaceflight operations.
What is especially exciting is research component. Shukla will complete the seven experiments designed by Indian institutions. These include studies on the development of microgravity plant which include crops like fenugreek (fenugreek) and moong (green grams). Imagine the possibilities – if we can grow Indian crops in space, it opens a completely new front for food security and space -sub -signs.
Security Revolution: What Falcon 9 makes human-rated
Falcon 9 represents a security revolution in the human-trading spaceflight. NASA’s human-trading is not only designed to be tolerant of failure and may have an inaccessible failure to protect the crew, but also that spacecrafts riding on the human-rated spacecraft have some control over it. Even more importantly, NASA CCP human-trading standards require that the possibility of loss on climbing is no more than 1 in 500, and that the possibility of damage on the lineage was not more than 1 in 500.
But does Falcon really make 9 human-rated? The answer lies in many layers of sophisticated security systems:
Triple-Rimandent Flight System: The F9 has triple-linear flight computers and inertia navigation with GPS overlay for additional accuracy. SpaceX uses several fruitless flight computers in a mistake-tolerant design. The software runs on Linux and is written in C ++. This means that if a computer fails, two others can still safely control the rocket.
Superdraco launch escape system: Crown Safety Crown is the integrated escape system of Jewel Dragon. For launch abols, the capsule depends on the eight superdraco engines systematically arranged in four fruitless pairs. Each engine produces 71 KN (16,000 LBF) thrust. A fruitless array of eight superdraco engines provides defects-tolerance propulsion for use as a launch escape system. During the January 2020 Abbort Test, the abort system took the dragon capsules of a crew half miles in 7.5 seconds, faster the craft of the booster at a speed of 400 mph.
Advanced Parachute System: The Dragon 2 uses a total of six parachutes (two drugs and four mains), after the atmospheric entry compared to the five used by Dragon 1 and before the splashdown. The spacecraft can safely be safely printed with just three main chit and possibly two.
Emergency proprietary landing: In 2024, SpaceX added an incredible backup capacity. Dragon now has excesses manufactured to promise its superdreco thrusters, to protect the vehicle and potential crew from rough landing or adjacent danger. Will there be an anomaly with parachutes, four main parachutes will be cut and the dragon will gradually ignite its eight super -raco engines to a propulsive splashdown.
Hard test program: This is the final stage in the multi-mission certification process, which included several previous launch, including an unkred ISS Docking Mission, which had gone completely automatically, and launched pads abort test to demonstrate that the launch vehicle’s security system was unlikely after an accident, but before reaching the orbit.
Engine-out capacity: Falcon 9’s nine-engine first stage design provides incredible excesses. In the first phase, the nine merlin engine has gradually touched near the end of the first-step flight to limit the launch vehicle acceleration as the mass of the rocket is reduced with the burning of fuel. Even if an engine fails during the flight, the mission may continue successfully-it was proved during Flight 83, a successful starlink launch that saw the first failure of the Merlin 1D first-phase engine during the climb.
Heat Shield Security: When the capsule returns to the Earth, a PICA-3 heat protects the capsule during the shield reverentry, which protects astronauts from the extreme temperature of the atmospheric entry.
Affection Control System: Sixteen small Drako thrusters kept around the spacecraft control their approach and do orbital maneuvers. Each pod also consists of four Drako thrusters who can be used for approach control and orbital maneuvers, which provide accurate control throughout the mission.
Looking beyond Axiom 4
The success of Falcon 9 with Axiom 4 will have wave effects beyond this single mission. AX-4 is an example of how India is embracing international cooperation. Mission has seen astronauts participation from the US, Hungary and Poland, and includes agencies such as SpaceX, NASA and Axiom Space.
This international cooperation model enabled by reliable and cost -effective launch vehicles like Falcon 9 is the future of space exploration. Building expensive rockets from scratches instead of each country, nation can pool resources and expertise to achieve large goals rapidly.
For India, in particular, this mission is forming the basis for even greater ambitions. For ISRO, it provides valuable experience before the Gaganan program and reflects India’s growing ambitions, including a lunar mission and space station plan until the 2030s.
Economic Sports Close
Beyond safety and capacity, Falcon 9 has fundamentally changed the economics of space access. The reusable SpaceX allows to re -create the most expensive parts of the rocket, which in turn reduces the cost of space access. This cost reduction is one that makes missions such as Axiom 4 financially viable to participate in many countries.
Twenty years ago, sending an astronaut to a astronaut to a astronaut to a astronaut to spend hundreds of dollars in space. Today, thanks to the reusable rockets such as Falcon 9, the cost has fallen dramatically, making the space accessible to more nations and organizations than ever.
A new chapter begins
As we look at Falcon 9 lift from Launch Complex 39A on June 10, with India’s hopes and dreams -Shubanshu Shukla, we are looking more than just another space launch. We are looking at the morning of a new era, where the discovery of space is no longer limited to superpower with unlimited budget.
Human-Retured Falcon 9 has democratized access to space, and India is fully deployed to take advantage of this new reality. Our strong technical expertise, with the growing space program, and now proved to be the ability to cooperate internationally, India is set to become a prominent player in the global space economy.
Shukla’s journey is just the beginning for ISS. Thanks to reliable, reusable and inexpensive launch vehicles such as Falcon 9, the next Indian astronaut may be launched at an Indian-made rocket at an Indian space station. The stars are quite literally, boundaries.
