"Gravity is for those who belong on the ground. You, my son, were meant for orbit."

Aryan grew up in a house where the roof leaked during rains, but his binoculars always pointed toward the moon. Born into a world of limited means but infinite dreams, his journey to become a space engineer was never just his own. It was fueled by the sweat of his father, Sushant, a man who traded his health for his son's tuition, and the silent strength of his mother, Anindita, who sold her last pieces of heritage to keep the dream alive.

400 Kilometers is not just a story about space exploration; it is a raw, emotional chronicle of the sacrifices that happen behind the closed doors of middle-class homes. It is about the crushing weight of poverty, the "G-force" of expectations, and the heartbreaking moment when a launch is successful, but the ground control is lost forever.

When tragedy strikes and the stars seem further than ever, Aryan must decide: Will he let gravity pull him down, or will he become the launchpad for a new generation?

Spanning decades and reaching from the dusty lanes of a small town to the silent vacuum of Low Earth Orbit, this novel is a tribute to the "unsung astronauts"—the parents and mentors who stay on the ground so that others can fly.