India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla set to make history as the first Indian aboard the International Space Station; launch delayed to June 22 amid ongoing ISS maintenance reviews
After six delays due to weather and technical issues, the launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is now scheduled no earlier than Sunday, June 22. The joint mission by NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX will feature Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force as pilot, marking a significant milestone in India’s space history.
Shukla, a decorated test pilot and one of four astronauts selected under India’s Human Spaceflight Programme, is set to become the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS and only the second Indian in space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic 1984 flight aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission.
The Ax-4 mission will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 14-day mission will be commanded by veteran NASA astronaut and Axiom’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Peggy Whitson. Joining Whitson and Shukla will be two mission specialists—Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—making Ax-4 the first mission where astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary will collectively operate aboard the ISS.
NASA cited the need for additional time to evaluate ongoing space station operations and recent repair work on the Zvezda service module’s aft segment as the reason behind the latest delay.
The Ax-4 mission is symbolic of a broader international return to human spaceflight. For India, Poland, and Hungary, this will be only the second crewed space mission in each nation’s history, and the first involving participation on the ISS. The estimated cost of Shukla’s seat aboard the commercial Dragon spacecraft is reported to be in the mid-$60-million range, funded by the Government of India.
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This mission, coordinated by NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom Space, reflects deepening international collaboration in low-Earth orbit operations and holds significant implications for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission. Shukla’s performance aboard the ISS is expected to offer critical experience ahead of ISRO’s plans to independently send Indian astronauts to space in the near future.
