Gp. Capt. Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian in space in 40 years, will be first ever at ISS

Florida: Carrying the hopes and dreams of billions, the Axiom-4 (AX-4) Mission, piloted by Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, along with three other crew members — veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson (USA), Polish engineer Sławosz Uznański and Hungarian researcher Tibor Kapu — to the International Space Station (ISS) for a 14-day experiment, took off from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida at 12.01 pm (IST) onboard the Space Dragon Aircraft, today.

After about 28-hour flight duration, the four crew members will dock at ISS at 4.30 pm tomorrow and are slated to spend 14 days at the space station conducting microgravity research.

Shukla said, “For the fortnight-long mission, I will be carrying with me not just instruments and equipment, but the hopes and dreams of a billion hearts.”

Shukla also carried a special gift as a tribute to India’s first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma. “I will be carrying something for him… I haven’t revealed it to him. I will hand it over to him personally,” he said, prior to the launch.

Both Shukla and Sharma (now retired) are Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots. Interestingly, Shukla was born in the year 1985, a year after Sharma became the first and only Indian to fly to space.

After lift-off, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla delivered a message for India from space.

Speaking in Hindi, Shukla  said, “Namaskar, mere pyare deshvasiyon! What a ride! We are back in space after 41 years… The Tricolour on my shoulder reminds me that I’m not alone. This isn’t just the beginning of my international space journey — it’s the beginning of ours, as a nation.”

Thanks to Shukla, the crew aboard the ISS will get a taste of Indian delicacies. He would be carrying sweets – carrot halwa, moong dal halwa and mango nectar – for all the international crew members to taste.

As is tradition, the crew of a spacecraft’s first launch are awarded naming rights. That honour fell to Ax-4 for this new Dragon; the astronauts named it ‘Grace’, which they revealed once they reached the orbit.

From Lucknow to International Space Station: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (nicknamed Shux), mission pilot Axiom 4 Mission, is an Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilot and ISRO astronaut.

Shukla, a native of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, completed his schooling at City Montessori School, Aliganj. Inspired by the 1999 Kargil War, he independently applied for and cleared the UPSC NDA exam. He completed his military training and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the National Defence Academy in 2005.

He was then selected for the flying branch and underwent training at the IAF Academy. In June 2006, he was commissioned into the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force as a Flying officer

He is a combat leader and seasoned test pilot with about 2,000 hours of flying experience i.

Shukla is married to Dr. Kamna Mishra, a dentist. The couple has a son. His father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, is a retired government officer, while his mother, Asha Shukla, is a homemaker.