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3mo ago

Ax-4 Crew, Including India’s First ISS Astronaut in 41 Years, Lifts Off After Multiple Delays

The crew embarks on a two-week mission featuring science experiments from 31 nations alongside cultural mementos symbolizing India’s return to human spaceflight.

For Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, this will be an opportunity to emulate fellow IAF Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 in 1984
The mission also carries IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla
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Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others aboard the Dragon spacecraft.

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.