Taking off: Shubhanshu Shukla and the Ax-4 mission

IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the first Indian in space in over 40 years, as he pilots Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission to the ISS.

Axiom Space, founded in 2016, is pioneering the world’s first commercial space station and enabling global access to human spaceflight through public-private collaboration.

The Ax-4 mission will send four astronauts, including Shukla, to the ISS for two weeks—contributing critical data for India’s future space initiatives.

Ax-4, which was scheduled for June 11, but is postponed, is Axiom’s most research-intensive mission to date, supporting 60 experiments from 31 countries—including India’s studies on crop resilience and tardigrade biology. The team will share a new launch date soon.

An accomplished IAF officer with over 2,000 flying hours, Shukla has been preparing for human spaceflight since 2019 and now plays a pivotal role in India’s Gaganyaan programme.

Shukla is viewing this journey as a shared journey for 1.4 billion people in India.