Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla scripted history by embarking on a space odyssey along with three others to the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space on Wednesday. The much-delayed Axiom-4 mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 pm IST towards the ISS amid cheers from watch parties organised across the world, including at Shukla's City Montessori School in Lucknow where his parents witnessed the historic launch.The Lucknow-born Shukla, former NASA astronaut Mission Commander Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are part of the Axiom-4 mission that marks the return to space for the three nations.
A proud milestone for India
— Pijush Hazarika (@Pijush_hazarika) June 25, 2025
Congratulations to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on becoming the first Indian astronaut to embark on a journey to the International Space Station as part of #AxiomMission4.
Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri… pic.twitter.com/WdNPp2bS4H
Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, a journey that comes 41 years after Rakesh Sharma’s eight days in orbit as part of the then Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984."Greetings from India.. have a fun time guys," Sharma said in a video message. His parents also watched the launching from Lucknow.
#WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: Mother of IAF Group Captain & astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, Asha Shukla, gets emotional as she cheers for her son, who is part of the #AxiomMission4 pic.twitter.com/62Ki2J3hRU
— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2025
This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The crew is travelling to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The targeted docking time is approximately 7 am Eastern Time (4 pm IST) on Thursday, June 26. If all goes according to plan, the Axiom 4 crew will be welcomed aboard the orbiting space laboratory Thursday morning by its seven current resident occupants – three astronauts from the U.S., one from Japan and three cosmonauts from Russia.
Newsinc24 Team





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