India must sustain momentum on Gaganyaan despite complexities: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla
Bengaluru (PTI): India must continue to pursue its ambitious human spaceflight programme with sustained enthusiasm despite inherent complexities and unknowns, Group Captain and Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla said on Wednesday.
The Ashoka Chakra awardee asserted that the success of Mission Gaganyaan will place the country among a select group of spacefaring nations.
Addressing reporters here, he said, “I think, as a nation, what we are trying to do with Mission Gaganyaan has only been done by three other countries in the world.”
The Gaganyaan mission is India's first human spaceflight programme currently under development. It aims to send a three-member crew on a three-day mission to space and bring them back safely to Earth.
According to ISRO, India aims to launch Gaganyaan in 2027.
Group Captain Shukla is among the four astronauts selected for the mission.
“These are very complex and challenging missions. We are trying to do something so audacious, whatever time it takes, we need to continue to work towards it with the same enthusiasm that I had on day one, and that will be there on the final day when we finally launch humans into space,” he added.
The Indian astronaut acknowledged that delays and hurdles were natural in such cutting-edge ventures while maintaining that they should not be seen as setbacks.
“I do understand the complexities and challenges that are associated with such an ambitious mission. And yes, definitely there are going to be some unknowns along the way before we finally accomplish it,” the Group Captain said.
On India–US cooperation in the space sector, Shukla cited his own Axiom mission as an example of how international collaboration can advance space exploration.
“So my Axiom mission itself was a very good example of how collaboration works in the field of spaceflight or space exploration, and I think it serves as a very good beacon for all the other sectors as well,” he said, adding that joint efforts open doors for future partnerships and serve as models for countries to work together towards common goals.
He noted that comparisons between spacefaring nations are inevitable, but they must account for differing starting points and scales of operation.
Shukla also stressed that India’s identified missions are being actively supported by the government, with growing investment in science and space exploration over time. He expressed hope that such support would continue in the years ahead.
Group Captain Prasanth Nair, an astronaut chosen by the ISRO for the Gaganyaan mission, said, “I can only say, just be patient. Everything is happening exactly the way it has to happen,”
Nair was responding to a query by reporters regarding the delay in the project.
He likened the Gaganyaan to an "inflection point".
“People should look for the inflection point. And that inflection point, if I may dare say, is going to be the Gaganyaan moment when India puts an Indian astronaut on an Indian rocket, in an Indian capsule, from an Indian spaceport here, and brings him back safely,” the Indian astronaut said.
He stressed that India will be only the fourth country in the world if it succeeds.
Nair also noted that the moment is important because “when India does something, it does it differently”.
“We believe in Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (Collective development with everyone’s participation). We gave vaccines to the rest of the world even when we ourselves needed them,” he said, recalling how India tackled the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This time also, when we go to space and the Gaganyaan moment happens—when an Indian human goes to space—the rest of the world, especially those who cannot send their own astronauts, will say, ‘Thank God India went’, because once we go, we will hold that space for all of us,” he noted.
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Accused gunman at correspondents' dinner was believed to be targeting top officials, Blanche says
Washington (AP): The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
Blanche also said officials believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where in recent days he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington's glitziest events was being held Saturday night.
Investigators have not publicly named the suspect, but two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter have identified him to The Associated Press as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner. He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, President Donald Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
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