New Delhi– Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to make history as the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), with his launch now rescheduled for June 8, U.S.-based Axiom Space announced Thursday.
Originally slated for May 29, the launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) has been pushed back to allow for other upcoming mission schedules. The new launch window is set for 9:11 a.m. ET (6:41 p.m. IST) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Shukla, serving as the mission’s pilot, will travel to the ISS alongside Commander Peggy Whitson of the U.S., Polish mission specialist Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungarian mission specialist Tibor Kapu.
“Ax-4 marks a historic milestone in commercial human spaceflight,” Axiom Space said in a statement. “For the first time, astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary will travel together to the ISS as part of a government-sponsored mission—each country returning to human spaceflight after more than four decades.”
NASA confirmed the launch delay, citing the need to accommodate other scheduled missions and to finalize mission planning, vehicle readiness, and logistical preparations.
Shukla’s mission comes 40 years after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space, flying aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984. Shukla was selected for astronaut training by ISRO in 2019, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 announcement that India would soon send a citizen to space.
In January 2025, the 39-year-old Shukla was named pilot for the Ax-4 mission, a collaborative effort between NASA and ISRO.
“During the transit to the ISS, I will be acting as the mission pilot,” Shukla said in an earlier interview with IANS. “I’ll work alongside the mission commander, manage systems, monitor data, navigate, and intervene manually if required.”
While on the ISS, Shukla will participate in several research experiments, including studies that support the development of Axiom’s future commercial space station. He will also contribute to investigations on the impact of microgravity on cyanobacteria—microorganisms that could play a role in future long-duration space missions by generating oxygen in closed environments.
“We’re exploring whether cyanobacteria can sustain their function in microgravity and how they might be used to support breathable environments on future missions,” Shukla explained. (Source: IANS)
