Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has departed for the International Space Station. Just a few minutes after the launch of the Axiom-4 mission, Shubhanshu Shukla sent his first message from space.
In his message sent from space, Shubhanshu Shukla said: “Namaskar, my dear fellow countrymen! What a journey this is! After 41 years, we have returned to space once again. It is a magnificent journey. We are orbiting the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometers per second. The tricolor adorned on my shoulder reminds me that I am with all of you. This journey of mine is not the beginning of the International Space Station (ISS), but the beginning of India’s human space program.”
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Notably, Shubhanshu Shukla is a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force. Before going to the International Space Station, he was given full training. In the past, the Axiom-4 mission was postponed several times, due to which doubts arose about its execution, but finally, this mission was launched into space on 25 June 2025 at 12 PM Indian Standard Time. Just a few minutes after the flight, Shubhanshu Shukla’s first message was received.
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After Shubhanshu Shukla successfully departed on the ISS mission, a post was also made by the Indian Air Force on X (formerly Twitter). In its post, the Air Force wrote: “From conquering the skies to touching the stars, a journey inspired by the unmatched courage of a braveheart of the Indian Air Force.”
The mission is being led by former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space Director of Human Spaceflight Peggy Whitson. Associated with India’s ISRO, Shubhangshu Shukla will serve as the pilot in this mission. Two more mission astronauts are included in this mission—Slawosz Uznanski Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
