SOURCE ; NEW18
Last Updated:April 30, 2025, 04:13 IST
Once docked, the astronauts will spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory—a springboard for developing a low Earth orbit economy—and conduct various experiments
Shukla will serve as a pilot, with former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, as commander of the commercial mission. There will be two mission specialists—European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—also on their maiden visit to the ISS. Image/NASA
Axiom Mission-4, carrying Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is set to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, on May 29, marking a historic milestone as he is poised to become India’s first astronaut to board the International Space Station. Shukla will join three other crew members on the much-anticipated private spaceflight.
The flight is expected to take off precisely at 1:03 pm EDT (10:33 pm Indian Standard Time) on May 29, subject to weather conditions, Axiom Space announced on Tuesday evening.
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Shukla will serve as a pilot, with former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, as commander of the commercial mission. There will be two mission specialists—European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—also on their maiden visit to the ISS.
While Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian astronaut to travel to space in 1984, Shukla will become the first to visit the ISS, which became functional in 2000. The trained Air Force pilot is also one of four ISRO astronauts undergoing rigorous training for Gaganyaan—India’s first-ever human spaceflight.
The Axiom mission will provide an opportunity to gain experience in living and working in space for an extended period ahead of India’s human spaceflight. As per the plan, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry the crew to the ISS. Once docked, the astronauts will spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory—a springboard for developing a low Earth orbit economy—and conduct numerous experiments.
Shukla will also perform several experiments designed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in collaboration with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
ISRO has shortlisted seven microgravity research experiments proposed by researchers from various national research laboratories. Scientifically, the studies will contribute to the understanding of biological processes in microgravity, leading to developments in life sciences. There will also be experiments designed to understand the impact of spaceflight on the germination and growth of six crop seed varieties and bacterial growth in microgravity.
Axiom Space has flown three private astronaut missions before, with the first launch in 2022 involving a 17-day stay at the ISS and the most recent in January 2024, which lasted 18 days. Also in the pipeline is Axiom Station, the first commercial space station, which will offer a permanent platform for research, manufacturing, and human spaceflight.
Meanwhile, NASA is clearly very keen to tap into commercial missions aboard the ISS to develop low-cost access to space so that it can focus on the upcoming Artemis Mission to the Moon in preparation for Mars, with low Earth orbit as a training ground for those deep space missions. “Private astronaut missions to the station help pave the way toward NASA’s efforts in developing a thriving low Earth orbit economy,” announced the US space agency on Tuesday.
