Rakesh Sharma, first Indian in space, recounts his tough journey

Jaipur, March 6 : The IAS Literary Secretary of the IAS Association in Rajasthan, Mugdha Sinha, on Saturday held a conversation with Wing Commander (Retd) Rakesh Sharma on ‘Mission Space’.
The Facebook live session between Sinha and Sharma focussed on the latter’s life, his career as an Air Force Pilot, his experience as the first Indian to travel in space in April 1984 and women in science, among other topics.
Talking about his opportunity to go into space, the Wing Commander said that he had undergone 18 months of training in Star City in Moscow.
All the technical studies, exams, crew interactions, simulator training were conducted in Russia, so he had to learn the Russian language as a part of his training.
It was a very tough journey but he held on because at the end of his struggle was the dream to travel into space.
Sharma said that gravity makes a big difference in space.