Axiom Mission 4

Indian Air Force’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla made history on June 26, 2025, by becoming the first Indian to enter the International Space Station (ISS). He is also the second Indian in space, following Rakesh Sharma’s flight in 1984.

Key Highlights

• Astronaut: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a Lucknow-born Indian Air Force pilot.
• Mission Role: He served as the mission pilot for this flight.
• Spacecraft & Launch Vehicle: The crew was carried aloft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon capsule.
• Launch Details:
  • Lift-off: June 25, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • Docking with ISS: June 26, 2025.
• Mission Name: Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).
• Organizers: Texas-based startup Axiom Space in partnership with Elon Musk’s rocket venture SpaceX.
• Crew Members: The four-member crew included:
  • Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (India)
  • Peggy Whitson (USA)
  • One astronaut from Poland
  • One astronaut from Hungary
• Greeting from Space: As the Dragon crew capsule circled Earth, Group Captain Shukla greeted people back home with a “Namaskar from space.”
• Research Portfolio: The mission’s research portfolio is extensive, comprising approximately 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including India, the United States, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, and various European nations.