NEW DELHI– Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to make history on Tuesday as the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Scheduled to lift off aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of Axiom Space’s Mission-4 (Ax-4), Shukla’s journey marks a new chapter in India’s growing presence in human spaceflight.
The launch is set for June 10 at 8:22 a.m. ET (5:52 p.m. IST) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, following two previous delays. The Ax-4 mission, operated by the U.S.-based private space company Axiom Space, includes a four-person crew: Shukla as pilot, Commander Peggy Whitson (USA), and mission specialists Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
While Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel to space in 1984 aboard the Soviet space station Salyut 7, Shukla will be the first Indian to reach the ISS—marking a major milestone for Indian space exploration.
In a recent press conference, Shukla expressed confidence in the mission’s success. Speaking to IANS in March, he shared that Sharma’s pioneering journey deeply inspired him, and he hopes his own mission will ignite the imagination of a new generation of Indians to pursue careers in space science.
Once aboard the ISS, Shukla will conduct a series of scientific experiments focused on food and nutrition in space. The research, developed jointly by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA, aims to explore how microgravity and radiation affect nutrient-rich edible microalgae.
The experiments will analyze changes in the growth, gene expression (transcriptomes), proteins (proteomes), and metabolites (metabolomes) of various algae species in space conditions compared to Earth. The results could have long-term implications for sustainable food systems in deep space missions.
Axiom Space confirmed its readiness for the mission and noted that the Ax-4 crew, alongside SpaceX personnel, completed launch day rehearsals over the weekend. A backup launch window has been scheduled for June 11 at 8:00 a.m. ET (5:30 p.m. IST), in case of delays.
“Go #Ax4!” Axiom Space posted on social media platform X, signaling full support ahead of the milestone flight.
The Ax-4 mission is Axiom’s second fully commercial flight to the ISS and its first composed entirely of government and ESA-sponsored astronauts. The crew is expected to conduct around 60 scientific studies and research initiatives representing 31 countries, including India, the United States, Poland, Hungary, Brazil, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and multiple European nations.
As anticipation builds across India and beyond, Shukla’s journey not only honors the country’s space legacy but propels it into a future of deeper international collaboration and exploration. (Source: IANS)
