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“It is always easy to ideate, a little difficult to plan unnecessary drag during launch. It takes around a
and to execute is the most difficult; which is the day and half for the capsule to reach the spacelab
key” – Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma. in the orbit.

Sharma divided his talk into three parts in order to Sharma says the view of the earth from space
delve into the future of manned space mission. takes your breath away. The sunrises which are 90
minutes apart are literally out of the world.
How and Why?
How do we train for space flight? Why we do what While returning, the engines decelerate enough
we do during the training process? for the capsule to lose its orbit and the Earth starts
pulling it into its atmosphere. As you get closer to
Sharma talks about the various stages of training the surface the only thing holding you together
for space flight. It begins with a centrifuge that is the shape of the capsule which is engulfed in
is used to train cosmonauts to endure the sheer flames from the re-entry friction. At 30,000 feet the
force of gravity during the suborbital, orbital or parachute releases and the retro boosters help in
escape launch which is about 8 minutes and is stabilizing and slowing the landing. “This was an
also used to determine the threshold capacity of 8 day journey for which we trained for 18 months”,
the cosmonauts. This is followed by the vestibular quips Sharma.
apparatus training which simulates zero gravity.
This helps the cosmonauts get oriented to a non- Future of Space Exploration
fixed axial environment. This is followed by a tilt Why we need to continue our efforts in space?
table training which acclimatises the heart and And if we continue, do we follow the same model
the body to adjust in space. The final stage of the until now?
training involves experiencing zero gravity in a
cargo plane during controlled manoeuvres which
helps in finding out latent physiological problems.

Space simulators are used to assess crew
coordination, in flight procedures and emergency
procedures. Every cosmonaut has a customized
seat which plays a vital role during and after
the launch. The windshields of the capsule that
sits at the top of the rocket are covered to avoid