Overview
- A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Axiom-4 Crew Dragon lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 12:01 p.m. IST on June 25.
- Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS as part of the four-member team led by commander Peggy Whitson.
- The crew will spend about two weeks aboard the ISS conducting some 60 microgravity experiments representing 31 countries.
- Shukla brought personal items including mango nectar, traditional halwa sweets, and a plush swan named Joy to share cultural comforts in orbit.
- The mission’s operational data will inform India’s Gaganyaan program and underscores growing international collaboration in commercial spaceflight.