India is poised for a historic return to human spaceflight with Indian Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla set to pilot the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), forty-one years after Rakesh Sharma's voyage aboard the Soviet Soyuz in 1984.
The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) commercial mission, developed by Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX, is scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Tuesday, 10 June. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS at approximately 10 p.m. IST on Wednesday, after a journey of about 28 hours.
SpaceX has rolled out its Dragon spacecraft, mounted atop the reusable Falcon 9 rocket, to the launchpad ahead of the mission.
Shukla will be joined by mission commander Peggy Whitson, Hungarian specialist Tibor Kapu, and Polish astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski. The four-member crew has been in quarantine since 25 May and has undergone intensive training for the fortnight-long mission.
Whitson said, “We are good for the launch, we have completed all the training and the team has bonded well.”
The Ax-4 mission had initially been scheduled for launch on 8 June but was postponed by two days. NASA said in a statement, “The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m. EDT (10 p.m. IST), Wednesday, June 11.”
Also read: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s ISS journey rescheduled to June 8
During the mission, Shukla is expected to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, schoolchildren, and global space leaders. Axiom Space described the mission as part of an effort to enhance international cooperation in space.
“Our previous missions set the stage and with Ax-4, we ascend even higher, bringing more nations to low-Earth orbit and expanding humanity’s reach among the stars,” Whitson remarked.
Speaking about his journey, Shukla called the year-long training “nothing short of transformative.” He added, “It has been an amazing journey so far, but the best is yet to come. As I go into space, I carry not just instruments and equipment, I carry hopes and dreams of a billion hearts.”
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in coordination with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and with NASA’s assistance, has lined up seven key experiments for Shukla. These focus primarily on food and nutrition in microgravity. Shukla will conduct tests involving Indian food staples such as methi (fenugreek) and moong (green gram), observing their sprouting and resilience in space conditions.
The astronaut will return the seeds to Earth, where they will be cultivated and studied over generations, potentially contributing to self-sustaining life support systems for long-duration missions.
He is also scheduled to take part in five joint studies under NASA’s human research programme. His spaceflight is expected to yield valuable data for India’s forthcoming Gaganyaan mission, which is being targeted for 2027.
Last week, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan visited Axiom Space’s facilities to review final preparations. Axiom Space also shared a video showing the astronauts undergoing emergency drills, including underwater escape training. ISRO’s investment in the Ax-4 mission is estimated to be ₹550 crore.
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