Adhir Saiyadh received a response from the capsule and encountered a video call connection.
Ahmedabad:
An amateur radio enthusiast from Ahmedabad received a response on Wednesday from SpaceX Crew Dragon astronauts while trying to connect with the International Space Station.
Adhir Saiyadh, a computer engineer, told ANI that he was trying to connect to the ISS when he suddenly received a response from the Dragon capsule that docked at the orbital outpost on Sunday.
“I was on videoconference with my student about the ISS. He asked me if we could connect with the ISS. I decided to try to connect while I was on videoconference. By Coincidentally, I logged on to their frequency and received a response from the capsule and experienced a video call type connection, “Mr. Adhir told ANI.
“We were in the middle of an electronic conference when this capsule flew over Ahmedabad. I tried to connect to the ISS and we connected. They recognized the call,” added M Admire.
On Sunday, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft with two NASA astronauts successfully docked at the International Space Station after a historic launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the dawn of a new era in space travel commercial.
Saturday’s takeoff also becomes important as it marks the launch of humans into orbit from American soil for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Indian Space Research Organization on Monday praised NASA and SpaceX for their manned mission and called it “historic”.
India has also prepared the ground for its first manned space mission, “Gaganyaan”. The ambitious 10,000 crore project is expected to start in 2022, the year of India’s 75th anniversary of independence. Four Indian Air Force fighter pilots selected as potential mission candidates are undergoing training in Moscow.
