The much-awaited Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla was successfully launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday. The lift-off took place at 12:01 PM (IST) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The mission is being piloted by India’s IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. The crew is travelling to the ISS on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The Axion-4 mission is led by the US’ Commander Peggy Whitson, with IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as mission pilot and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski as mission specialists.
WATCH | #Axiom4Mission lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US. The mission is being piloted by India’s IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. The crew is travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon… pic.twitter.com/jPDKcB44NM
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Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green, Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia and others celebrated as Axiom-4 mission was launched from the NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green, Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia and others celebrate as #Axiom4Mission lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US.
The mission is being piloted… pic.twitter.com/WmwbrTZ2lZ
— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2025
About Ax-4 Mission
The Ax-4 crew includes members from India, Poland, and Hungary. This marks each nation’s first mission to the space station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years. The Ax-4 research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, and nations across Europe. It is considered to be one of the most research and science-related activities conducted on an Axiom Space mission aboard the ISS to date.
Who Is Shubhanshu Shukla?
Born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, he was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in June 2006. He has an impressive 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircrafts, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. In 2019, he began a year-long training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Moscow, Russia. On February 27, 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi named Shukla as one of the astronauts undergoing rigorous training for India’s maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan.
In a video posted by the Ax-4 mission on YouTube earlier, Shukla shared his excitement on the opportunity to fly to space. “The way this worked out for me was that probably a week before we arrived at Axiom was the time I came to know that I would be going. I was extremely excited to be here. I was very, very happy, because this was a possibility for me to actually fly to space. You do not know how to respond to such things,” said Shukla.
Shukla Reveals What Will Truly Make Axiom-4 A Success
Reflecting on his training and events after that, Shukla hailed it as an amazing journey. Shukla highlighted that through this mission, he wants to inspire an entire generation in his country. He wants to spark curiosity among children about the scientific endeavours. He added that it will be a big thing for him if inspires and brings change to at least one life through his story and success.
“It has been an amazing journey. These are moments that really tell you that you are getting to be a part of something that is much larger than yourself. I can only say how extremely fortunate I am to be a part of this. It is my sincere endeavour through my mission to inspire an entire generation back home in the country. I want to use this opportunity to ignite curiosity among kids. Even if this story, my story, is able to change one life, it would be a huge success for me,” Shukla stated.
