'My dear countrymen...': On Axiom-4 mission, India's Shubhanshu Shukla sends stirring message from space

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Wednesday scripted history by becoming the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), 41 years after Rakesh Sharma’s iconic journey to space, as part of the Axiom-4 commercial mission.

Ten minutes into the spaceflight, Shukla delivered his first message from orbit:

Shukla, a native of Lucknow, is part of the four-member Axiom-4 crew, which lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:01 pm IST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The launch was cheered on by thousands, including watch parties held in India, one of which was hosted at Shukla’s alma mater, City Montessori School in Lucknow, where his proud parents witnessed the historic moment.

The Axiom-4 mission is commanded by former NASA astronaut and current Axiom director of human spaceflight, Peggy Whitson. Alongside Shukla, who serves as the mission’s pilot, are mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, affiliated with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, representing the HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) programme.

The mission marks a return to space for three nations—India, Poland, and Hungary.

The targeted docking time is approximately 4.30 pm IST on Thursday, June 26, NASA said in a statement.

Once on board, the Axiom-4 astronauts will spend around two weeks at the ISS conducting a wide array of scientific experiments, educational outreach, and commercial activities.

Shukla’s historic journey comes four decades after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space in 1984 aboard the Soviet Salyut-7 space station.