As India watched with pride, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force lifted off into space aboard the historic Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Back home in Lucknow, his proud parents couldn’t contain their joy.
Tears, applause, and pride filled the Shukla household as they watched their son, a decorated IAF pilot and now India's latest spacefarer, take to the skies aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. "He’s always dreamt of flying, but today he flew into space. This is not just his moment, but the country's," said his emotional father, speaking to local reporters.
Visuals showed Shukla's mother cheering for him and blowing him kisses after the successful launch of the mission.
Axiom Mission 4 Launch
The Ax-4 mission, a private astronaut flight to the International Space Station (ISS), marks a significant milestone with Group Captain Shukla becoming the first Indian Air Force officer to pilot a commercial spaceflight. He is also the youngest among four astronauts trained under India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
The crew of Axiom Mission 4 includes NASA astronaut Dr Peggy Whitson (mission commander), Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski, Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, and Shukla as the pilot. The mission represents growing international collaboration in space, and India’s rising role in global space exploration.
Shukla, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, has clocked 2,000+ flying hours on aircraft like the Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, and Jaguar. Before the launch, he listened to the patriotic anthem Vande Mataram from Hrithik Roshan’s 2024 film Fighter — a nod to his military roots.
As the rocket soared beyond Earth’s atmosphere, so did India’s aspirations. For Group Captain Shukla’s parents and for a watching nation, it was more than a launch — it was history in the making.