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3mo ago

Axiom-4 Mission Set for June 11 Launch as India’s Shubhanshu Shukla Poised to Become First Indian on ISS

The mission will carry Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the ISS for space nutrition research that will inform India’s Gaganyaan programme.

The official crew portrait of Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission from Axiom Space to the International Space Station. From left are, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Commander Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
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Here's what Shubhanshu Shukla will be taking to space credits- axiom.space-instagram
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Overview

  • Launch was pushed to June 11 at 5:30 PM IST due to high winds after SpaceX’s Falcon 9 static fire test and a full dress rehearsal with the crew.
  • Shukla will pilot the Dragon spacecraft as the first Indian astronaut on the ISS and the second Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 flight.
  • The four-member crew, led by commander Peggy Whitson and joined by specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu, will spend 14 days aboard the station.
  • They will conduct about 60 scientific studies from 31 countries, with Shukla focusing on food and nutrition experiments including microalgae growth under microgravity.
  • Backed by a Rs 550 crore ISRO investment and facilitated by Axiom Space under NASA’s commercial programme, the mission advances India’s human spaceflight expertise ahead of Gaganyaan 2027.