NEW DELHI – roup Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, set to pilot the Axiom-4 mission, is poised to make history as he prepares for liftoff to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch, delayed by bad weather near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is now scheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 pm India time.

Shukla’s flight, alongside a four-member crew aboard the Dragon spacecraft developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, marks India’s quiet return to human spaceflight after more than four decades. He will become the second Indian to travel to space, after IAF Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who soared into orbit aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984 as part of a mission in collaboration with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.

Unlike India’s first human spaceflight in 1984, this mission stands out for its strategic alignment with India’s current space ambitions. As a crew member aboard the Dragon spacecraft, Group Captain Shukla’s hands-on experience in space will be invaluable for India’s Gaganyaan mission, scheduled for early 2027. His exposure to real-time spaceflight challenges—from launch to re-entry—will offer critical operational insights for ISRO’s human spaceflight programme, helping fine-tune mission protocols.

His learnings could also feed into other critical future space missions, including the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), planned for the early 2030s, and Chandrayaan-4, Indian’s maiden attempt to send humans to the moon by 2047.

Shukla will also carry out a series of experiments in microgravity, ranging from muscle regeneration to space farming. These studies have been developed by ISRO in collaboration with Indian scientists from leading research institutions.

The mission will be commanded by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, with mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, completing the crew. The spacecraft will be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket, also developed by SpaceX.

During their stay aboard the ISS, the Ax-4 crew is also expected to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, school students, and space industry leaders, further strengthening global and national engagement with the mission.

And as a reminder of home, Shukla revealed during a press briefing on June 3 that he will be carrying a taste of India with him—’aam ras’, ‘gajar ka halwa’, and ‘moong dal halwa’—offering a sweet nod to the life he leaves behind, even if just for a few days.

Asia News Network/The Statesman