Axiom 4: India’s Shubhanshu Shukla Embarks on Historic ISS Journey

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is poised to script a new chapter in India’s space journey as he lifts off for the International Space Station (ISS) early Wednesday morning aboard Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). The launch, which was initially scheduled for June 22, had been postponed due to weather and technical concerns. Now, with all systems cleared and weather conditions reported to be 90% favorable, the much-awaited mission is set to take off at 2:31 am EDT (12:01 pm IST) from the iconic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the same launchpad from which Neil Armstrong began his historic journey to the Moon on Apollo 11 in 1969.

Shukla will be the mission’s pilot, marking his name in history as the first Indian to travel to the ISS, and only the second Indian in space since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s landmark Soviet-led mission in 1984.

Aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Shukla will be joined by three fellow astronauts: mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, and mission commander Peggy Whitson from the United States. Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, now works with Axiom Space, the private aerospace company organizing this fully commercial mission.

This marks the debut of the fifth and final Crew Dragon capsule in SpaceX’s current fleet, which will be named once it reaches orbit. It joins an elite lineup including Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance, and Freedom. The Crew Dragon vehicle is expected to dock with the ISS around 11:00 am GMT (4:30 pm IST) on Thursday and will remain docked for a mission duration of up to 14 days.

For India, this flight is far more than symbolic. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sees Shukla’s mission as a crucial stepping stone for Gaganyaan, India’s first indigenous human spaceflight program scheduled for 2027, with a budget of ₹33,000 crore. The program, whose name translates to “sky craft”, is expected to make India the fourth nation to independently send humans to space.

Back home, emotions are running high. Speaking to reporters, Shukla’s father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, said, “We are very excited and proud. It’s a big day for us, like a festival. My son is bringing glory not just to our family but to the entire nation.”

This launch also comes in the backdrop of an explosive online spat between former US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX. The disagreement had briefly cast uncertainty over SpaceX’s future government contracts, including those with NASA and the Pentagon. Musk later walked back from his initial statements, signaling that a rupture is unlikely, given the heavy interdependence between the government and SpaceX’s launch systems. For now, missions like Ax-4 appear to be safe from disruption.

Axiom-4 is not only notable for its multinational crew, representing India, Poland, Hungary, and the United States, but also for the fact that none of these countries has sent a human to space in decades. The astronauts aboard Ax-4 are the first from their nations to fly since the era of Soviet-led missions, when such spacefarers were referred to as "cosmonauts."

With just hours to go before liftoff, the excitement is palpable, not only at NASA and Axiom Space but across India, where Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey is being seen as a proud moment of resurgence for the country’s manned space ambitions.

As the world watches, India prepares to send its brave son to the stars once again.

Also Read: Axiom Space’s Ax-4 Mission Ready for Launch, India’s Shubhanshu Shukla in Crew