After more than four decades, India has sent another astronaut into space. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force was launched aboard Axiom Mission 4 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, becoming the second Indian to travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
Shukla, selected in 2019 for India’s astronaut corps, is part of a four-member international crew heading to the International Space Station (ISS). Reflecting on the occasion, he said, “This is not the start of my journey to the International Space Station, it is the start of India’s human space programme.”
Rakesh Sharma made history when he flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission and became the first Indian to go to space. His iconic response to then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi—“Saare jahan se achha”—when asked how India looked from space, remains etched in public memory. Now, Shukla’s flight marks a new chapter in India’s space journey, with a focus on self-reliance and long-term human spaceflight capabilities.
During their two-week mission on the ISS, the Axiom 4 crew will conduct scientific research, commercial demonstrations, and STEM outreach, some of which will feed into India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission, now expected in 2027. The mission, initially slated for May 29, faced delays due to technical issues in the launch vehicle and pressure anomalies in the ISS’s Zvezda module.
Shukla’s journey signals India’s return to crewed spaceflight, bridging a 41-year gap and paving the way for a future where Indian astronauts may fly on indigenous missions.
