Axiom-4 mission: India’s Shubanshu Shukla reaches ISS, dragon capsule docks

Axiom-4 mission: Indian astronaut Shubanshu Shukla reached the International Space Station (ISS) as the Crew Dragon capsule docked at the ISS at 4.43 pm IST on Thursday, as part of the Axiom-4 mission. The Crew Dragon capsule, with four astronauts, including Shukla onboard, docked at the ISS after a 33-hour long flight from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to a point 424km above the Earth.

The Axiom-4 mission launched at 12:01 PM on Wednesday when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 39A. Interestingly, this is the same site that had launched the Apollo Mission with Neil Armstrong back in the day.

‘Namaskar from space’

Earlier on Wednesday, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla greeted fellow countrymen with a “namaskar’ in his first call from space. “Namaskar from space! I am thrilled to be here with my fellow astronauts. What a ride it was,” says Indian astronaut Group Captain Subhanshu, who is piloting Axiom-4 Mission, as he gives details about his journey into space, ANI tweeted.

#WATCH | “Namaskar from space! I am thrilled to be here with my fellow astronauts. What a ride it was,” says Indian astronaut Group Captain Subhanshu, who is piloting #AxiomMission4, as he gives details about his journey into space.

Carrying a soft toy Swan, he says, in Indian… pic.twitter.com/Z09Mkxhfdj

— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2025

“I’m still getting used to zero gravity — like a baby learning how to walk, figuring out how to move and control myself. But I’m really enjoying every moment,” Shukla said.

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