WATCH: Axiom-4 Lifts Off; Shubhanshu Shukla To Be 1st Indian On ISS With Falcon 9 Docking On June 26

Axiom-4 Mission: Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey marks India’s return to human spaceflight after 40 years, making him the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

Shukla’s journey marks India’s return to human spaceflight after 40 years, making him the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

Source : SpaceX

Axiom-4 Mission: In a historic moment for Indian spaceflight, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the second Indian to travel into space, following in the footsteps of Rakesh Sharma nearly four decades ago. Shukla is part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which successfully launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the early hours of Wednesday.

With this, the targeted docking time is approximately 7 AM on Thursday (EDT), June 26, as per NASA.

Historic Axiom Mission-4 Lift Off With Shubhanshu Shukla

The mission lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 2:31 am local time (6:31 am GMT). The spacecraft — Crew Dragon — is carrying four astronauts, including Shukla, who is part of India’s Gaganyaan astronaut corps and an Indian Air Force officer.

 

Liftoff of Ax-4! pic.twitter.com/RHiVFVdnz3

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2025

 

Launch Timeline

Here’s a breakdown of the key events that marked the flawless launch sequence:

• T+00:00:00 – Falcon 9 Liftoff
• T+00:00:57 – Vehicle reaches Maximum Aerodynamic Pressure (Max-Q)
• T+00:02:25 – Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) on first stage
• T+00:02:28 – Stage Separation
• T+00:02:36 – Second Stage Engine Ignition (SES-1)
• T+00:02:42 – Boostback Burn begins (46 seconds duration)
• T+00:06:18 – First Stage Entry Burn begins (23 seconds)
• T+00:07:22 – Landing Burn Ignition
• T+00:07:39 – First Stage successfully lands on drone ship
• T+00:08:48 – Second Stage Engine Cutoff (SECO-1)
• T+00:10:04 – Dragon separates from second stage
• T+00:10:46 – Nosecone opening sequence begins

Historic Return To Space For India

Shukla’s journey marks India’s return to human spaceflight after 40 years, making him the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS). The last Indian to fly into space was Rakesh Sharma aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.

This mission is part of Axiom Space’s collaboration with NASA and SpaceX to build commercial opportunities for low-Earth orbit science, paving the way for future human missions.