Shubhanshu Shukla creates history; Axiom-4 mission launched successfully

NEW DELHI: The Axiom-4 space mission, featuring Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, was successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 PM IST. The crew, which includes astronauts from India, the United States, Hungary, and Poland, is expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) by 4:30 PM IST tomorrow.

Joining Shukla on the mission are veteran American astronaut Peggy Whitson, Poland’s Slawosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu.

This launch marks a historic milestone for India, as it is the first time in over four decades that an Indian has gone to space. The last Indian in space, Rakesh Sharma, flew aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 1984. However, he did not visit the ISS. Once the Dragon capsule docks, Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut to set foot on the International Space Station—an important chapter in India’s space exploration history.

Shukla got the opportunity to be part of the Axiom-4 mission, jointly organised by NASA and SpaceX, as a result of the NASA-ISRO collaboration. The launch of Axion-4 was postponed seven times due to technical glitches.

The Indian government has spent Rs 550 crore to support Shukla’s journey. Aged 39, he joined the Indian Air Force in 2006 and has over 2,000 hours of flying experience in various fighter and transport aircraft, including the Sukhoi-30, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and AN-32.