The Axiom-4 Mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will lift-off on Wednesday, June 25 at 12:01 PM (IST). After facing several delays, the mission is finally slated to launch today. SpaceX in an X post, confirmed that the weather is favourable for the launch and “all systems are looking good.” What makes this launch more exciting and special for Indians is the presence of Group Captain Shukla, who will pilot the Ax-4 mission. He is one of the four astronauts picked for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission.
Shukla looked excited as he prepared to pilot the historic Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS). Born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, he was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in June 2006. He has an impressive 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircrafts, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.
In 2019, he began a year-long training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Moscow, Russia. On February 27, 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi named Shukla as one of the astronauts undergoing rigorous training for India’s maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan.
In a video posted by the Ax-4 mission on YouTube earlier, Shukla shared his excitement on the opportunity to fly to space. “The way this worked out for me was that probably a week before we arrived at Axiom was the time I came to know that I would be going. I was extremely excited to be here. I was very, very happy, because this was a possibility for me to actually fly to space. You do not know how to respond to such things,” said Shukla.
About his fellow crew members, Shukla said that they all are fantastic and are going to be his friends for life. “The team that I am flying with on this mission, it is fantastic. I do feel that, you know, I have exceptional crewmates. I will have these crew members for this one flight, but post this mission, these are going to be my friends for life,” Shukla added.
Shukla Reveals What Will Truly Make Axiom-4 A Success
Reflecting on his training and events after that, Shukla hailed it as an amazing journey. Shukla highlighted that through this mission, he wants to inspire an entire generation in his country. He wants to spark curiosity among children about the scientific endeavours. He added that it will be a big thing for him if inspires and brings change to at least one life through his story and success.
“It has been an amazing journey. These are moments that really tell you that you are getting to be a part of something that is much larger than yourself. I can only say how extremely fortunate I am to be a part of this. It is my sincere endeavour through my mission to inspire an entire generation back home in the country. I want to use this opportunity to ignite curiosity among kids. Even if this story, my story, is able to change one life, it would be a huge success for me,” Shukla stated.
Ax-4 Mission Commander, Peggy Whitson also commended Shukla, saying that he has great operational capabilities.
“For me, having him as my pilot in the Dragon capsule is great. He already has that operational savvy, you know, he is just wicked smart when it comes to spacecraft technologies,” Whitson said.
