India took a significant step in its space exploration program on Wednesday, June 25, as Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others left for International Space Centre from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. This is as part of the Axiom Space’s commercial mission.
The long-delayed Axiom-4 launch took off on 12:01 pm IST on Wednesday. Shubhanshu Shukla is the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), and is the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
The crew will be transported aboard a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, launched via the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. Docking with the ISS is expected at approximately 4:30 PM IST on Thursday, June 26.
The mission will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight. Shubhanshu Shukla, representing the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will serve as the pilot.
