Describing the launch of Axiom4Mission piloted by IAF’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as a proud moment for the nation, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said this heralds the ascent of India to the pedestal of Viksit Bharat.
”This heralds the ascent of India to the pedestal of Viksit Bharat,” the minister said in his post on X.
”Congratulations, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla — you are the first Indian Astronaut to embark on a mission to the International Space Station . Indeed, a proud moment for India! ISRO’s growing global collaborations, after the reforms introduced by the government headed by PM Narendra Modi, have placed India as a frontline nation in Space exploration,” the post said.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Australian High Commissioner to India, Philip Green, Frances Adamson, Governor of South Australia, and others shared sweets to celebrate the launch of the Mission.
The four-member crew, which has been in quarantine in Florida, is commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight. The mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
The Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries’ second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.
For Group Captain Shukla, this will be an opportunity to emulate fellow Indian Air Force Officer Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme.