The Axiom-4 mission, piloted by Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is set to mark a historic milestone in India’s space journey, as the country prepares to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is targeting liftoff at 2:31 a.m. EDT (12 noon IST) on Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Group Captain Shukla, piloting SpaceX’s new Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket, will be joined by a four-member international crew. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS at approximately 7 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. IST) on Thursday.
The crew is commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight. Joining them as mission specialists are Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
Axiom-4 marks the first time that government-sponsored astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary are flying to the ISS — and each nation’s second-ever human spaceflight. The mission ends a four-decade gap since their last such participation and symbolizes a renewed commitment to human space exploration.
For India, this mission evokes powerful memories of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 in 1984. Group Captain Shukla spoke emotionally about following in his footsteps:
“I grew up reading about him in textbooks and listening to his stories. This journey started long ago. I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity.”
Beyond symbolism, Ax-4 is rich in scientific value. The crew will conduct around 60 experiments and activities representing 31 countries, making it Axiom Space’s most research-intensive mission to date. Key research themes include human health, Earth observation, biological sciences, and material science — with India playing a leading role in the scientific agenda.
The mission is a stepping stone for India’s ambitious space goals, including the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, scheduled for 2027, and the long-term objective to land an Indian on the Moon by 2040.
With Ax-4, India not only returns to crewed spaceflight after four decades, but also takes a giant leap forward in its international space collaboration and low-Earth orbit research ambitions.