“Namaskar, my dear countrymen!” proclaimed Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla about 10 minutes into liftoff aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
“We’ve reached space after 41 years. We’re orbiting Earth at roughly 7.5 km/s, and I have the Indian tricolour on my shoulder. TRicolour tells me I’m with you all.
This isn’t just the start of my journey to the ISS, but also the beginning of India’s human spaceflight era. I want each one of you to be part of this journey, let us embark on India’s human space programme together.”
Shukla is journeying as pilot on the Axiom‑4 mission, making him the second Indian in space, but the first to visit the International Space StatioN, since Rakesh Sharma’s flight in 1984.
The much-delayed Axiom-4 mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 pm IST towards the ISS amid cheers from watch parties organised across the world, including at Shukla's City Montessori School in Lucknow where his parents witnessed the historic launch.
PM Modi welcomes successful launch of Axiom‑4 crew mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed the successful launch of the Axiom‑4 space mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the United States.
Shared from his official X account, PM Modi lauded the achievement and extended his best wishes to the crew
The Prime Minister highlighted that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, aboard the mission, is poised to become the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station. “He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
PM Modi also wished success to the rest of the crew: mission commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski‑Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu.