Prior to his take off, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, one of the four astronauts on board the Axiom Mission 4, penned a heartfelt note for his partner, Kamna Shubha thanking her for the support. Shukla became the first ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut to board the International Space Station.
Prior to his take off, Shukla while sharing an Instagram post carrying the image of his wife biding an emotional farewell, wrote, “As we plan to leave the planet early morning of 25 Jun, I wish to thank everyone who has been involved in this mission for their support and also to all the people back home for their blessings and love. A big thank you to family and friends who have been my bedrock in this journey. Sometimes your close ones make sacrifices that you do not even fully understand but they do so out of their love for you.
Mentioning his wife, Shukla added, “Special thanks to @kamnashubha for being the wonderful partner that you are. Without you none of this was possible but more importantly none of this would matter.. No one travels to space alone.. we do so on the shoulders of so many more. I feel grateful to each and every one of you. THANK YOU.”
Responding to the post, Kamna wrote, “You make me proud every day, my love ”
SpaceX, which is handling the launch and space transport, wrote, “All systems are looking good for Wednesday’s (June 25, 2025) launch of @Axiom_Space’s Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station and weather is 90% favorable for liftoff.”
The four-member crew is being headed by Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and current director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Shukla as the mission specialist, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, hailing from Poland and flying with the European Space Agency (ESA) as mission specialists, and Tibor Kapu, from Hungary’s HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) program.
A former fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force, Shukla hails from Lucknow. As per reports he met his wife, a dentist, in his school. The two have been together since grade 3. “We’ve studied together since Class 3. We’ve been best friends. I’ve known him as Gunjan, as Shubhanshu—the shy guy in our classroom—who’s now inspiring so many people,” she said in one of her interviews. The couple has a six year old son.