Andhra Governor congratulates Dangeti Jahnavi, first Indian astronaut candidate to compete in NASA Program

VIJAYAWADA(Andhra Pradesh): Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer on Wednesday congratulated India’s youngest analog astronaut, Dangeti Jahnavi who has become the first Indian to be chosen to complete NASA’s prestigious International Air and Space Program.

Jahnavi is set to travel to space as a part of the Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) for US-based private aerospace company Titans Space for its EarthLoop Orbital Cruise mission in March 2029

The social media platform X of the Andhra Governor said, “Governor of Andhra Pradesh Sri S. Abdul Nazeer has congratulated India’s Youngest Analog Astronaut, Ms. Dangeti Jahnavi hailing from Palakollu, West Godavari district of the State, for being the first Indian to complete the NASA’s prestigious International Air and Space Program.”

The Andhra Governor stated that Jahnavi has been chosen as an astronaut candidate to travel to the Titan’s Orbital Port Space Station for the historic 2029 Low-Earth Orbit Expedition.

He lauded Jahnavi and called her an inspiration for the youth.

“Ms. Jahnavi has also been chosen as an astronaut candidate to travel to the Titan’s Orbital Port Space Station, a US-based project for the historic 2029 Low-Earth Orbit Expedition. Governor Sri Abdul Nazeer said Ms. Jahnavi has proved that no dream is too distant when you have a strong determination and she will be an inspiration to many youth. Andhra Pradesh and the entire nation is proud of her outstanding achievement and wished her many more successes in her future endeavours,” the X post by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh read.

Meanwhile, Group Captain Shubanshu Shukla is set to become the second Indian to go into space as part of the Axiom-4 mission.

The Axiom-4 mission is targeting a launch window of 2:31 a.m. EDT or 12 noon IST on Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US.

The crew, piloted by India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 7 am EDT on Thursday or 4 pm IST.

The four-member crew, which has been in quarantine in Florida, will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight. The mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. (ANI)