India’s human spaceflight mission is gathering momentum as astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission undergo specialised training to experience weightlessness aboard Zero-G aircraft.
The training, conducted using modified planes such as the Airbus A330 and IL-76, is helping prepare astronauts for the unique challenges of living and working in space.
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla recently shared videos and insights from the training sessions, offering a rare glimpse into the intense preparation behind India’s first human spaceflight.
Describing the experience, Shukla said astronaut training is “less a syllabus and more an entire encyclopedia, sprawling, demanding, and full of surprises.”
HOW ZERO GRAVITY IS SIMULATED?
Simulating weightlessness on Earth is a complex task, as gravity cannot simply be turned off. To overcome this, space agencies use specially designed aircraft, often called vomit comets, that fly in a series of steep parabolic arcs.
During each parabola, the aircraft first climbs sharply and then descends, creating a brief period where passengers experience microgravity.
Each cycle offers about 30 to 40 seconds of weightlessness, closely mimicking the conditions astronauts will encounter in orbit.
For Shukla, the Zero-G flight was a defining moment in his training journey. “It was my first encounter with true weightlessness,” he said. “In that brief suspension between forces, I felt an extraordinary sense of freedom, like, for a moment, I had slipped the quiet grip of Earth itself.”
Such training is crucial not only for physical adaptation but also for helping astronauts learn how to move, work, and maintain orientation in a gravity-free environment.
PREPARING FOR INDIA’S FIRST HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT
The Zero-G exercises are part of a broader training programme led by the Indian Space Research Organisation, aimed at ensuring astronauts are mission-ready.
From survival training to advanced simulations, each step is designed to prepare them for the rigours of space.
As India edges closer to launching humans into orbit, these moments of floating inside an aircraft mark a vital step toward a much larger leap, carrying Indian astronauts beyond Earth for the first time.
