Outlook Business Desk
After multiple delays, the private spaceflight Axiom Mission 4 has finally launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, placing the Crew Dragon C213 capsule into low-Earth orbit.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is now the second Indian to travel to space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's historic 1984 journey to the Salyut 7 space station. Shukla was previously selected for ISRO's ambitious Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
Axiom-4 is commanded by Peggy Whitson, director of human spaceflight at Axiom and a former NASA astronaut. She is joined by Group Captain Shukla (India), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). Each will be the first astronaut from their respective nations to reach the International Space Station (ISS).
The first visuals from inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule show Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, fully suited up and ready, along with his three international crewmates, as they prepare for lift-off.
The Axiom-4 mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after six postponements due to weather and technical issues. Unlike ISRO, which often provides exact launch dates, NASA typically uses the term “no earlier than” for its schedules.
India reportedly paid ₹550 crore for Shukla’s seat on the mission. Known domestically as Mission Akash Ganga, the flight is seen as a crucial milestone in ISRO’s roadmap towards the Gaganyaan mission planned for 2027.
The spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS on Thursday at around 11:00 AM GMT. The crew will stay aboard the space station for up to 14 days.
During their stay, the astronauts will conduct around 60 scientific experiments, including seven proposed by Indian researchers. Group Captain Shukla will also take part in a space-to-Earth outreach programme to inspire students and the public.
The Falcon 9 rocket, which carried the Axiom-4 mission, also launched NASA’s Demo-2 mission in 2020, marking the return of human spaceflight from US soil.
Since then, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft has safely transported 66 astronauts from 17 countries. So far, Dragon missions have supported over 1,000 scientific experiments in low-Earth orbit, including 60 experiments from 31 countries as part of Ax-4.