Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to fly to International Space Station in May 2025

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to pilot Axiom-4 mission to ISS in May 2025, making history for India.

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place in May 2025.

Group Captain Shukla will be the pilot of the upcoming Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4), which is the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS.

Axiom Space posted on X: “With a proven track record of excellence and experience, Axiom Space is proud to have successfully completed three Private Astronaut Missions, with a fourth scheduled for NET May 2025. We take pride in being the trusted provider for multiple countries to #ExperienceSpace and conduct groundbreaking research #ForEarth”.

NASA said that the mission is targeted to launch no earlier than May 2025 from its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.

Group Captain Shukla, who is also one of the four astronaut-designates selected for Gaganyaan mission of ISRO, will become the first Indian astronaut to go to the ISS, and the first Indian to go to space in the last 40 years.

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the commercial mission, European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary are also part of the crew.

After the launch from the Kennedy Space Center, the mission crew will spend 14 days on board the ISS to conduct some experiments.