Indian Astronaut To Fly To Space From Same Launch Complex As Neil Armstrong

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to walk in the footsteps of Astronaut Neil Armstrong - even as he is not going to the moon but only to the orbiting international space laboratory. Who knows Mr Shukla, whose call sign is 'Shux', may well say, 'one small step for ISRO, one giant leap for Bharat'.

Charming it may be, the wait is going to be a bit longer for Mr Shukla to fly into space but this historic second flight for an Indian astronaut will take place from the same haloed Launch Complex 39 A at the Kennedy Space Center from which Astronaut Neil Armstrong lifted off on the Apollo 11 mission on July 16, 1969 - to make history by becoming the first human to step on the moon.

The downside is that now the lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA has been put off to 'no earlier than Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 6.41 pm India Time'. This was announced by Axiom Space the Houston-based private space company handling the space mission.

Sources said that after reviewing the International Space Station flight schedule and visiting spacecraft logistics, NASA and its partners shifted launch opportunities for several upcoming missions, to include Axiom Mission 4. The schedule adjustments provide more time to finalise mission plans, spacecraft readiness, and logistics. The traffic at the ISS is usually high, and many missions do get rescheduled.

In addition, space flights involving humans are always undertaken only when all systems are fully ready, since the error margins are minimal and delays are not uncommon.

Earlier, NASA had announced that the mission will lift off 'no earlier than May 29, 2025 at 10.33 pm India Time'.

Incidentally, unlike the Indian space agency, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which gives exact dates and times for liftoffs of its rockets, NASA uses the safe phraseology of 'no earlier than' - this probably gives them the leeway to delay launches without being hauled on fire.

Group Captain Shukla is scheduled to pilot the Axiom Mission 4, a private astronaut mission that will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket. In a statement, Axion Space said, "The launch of the Axiom-4 crew will take place from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida".

His travel to space comes four decades after Rakesh Sharma's iconic spaceflight on board Russia's Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.

The mission, which is jointly being undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO, would be a historic event for India as Mr Shukla's mission will feed into India's human space flight program, the Gaganyaan mission.

According to ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan, the mission will cost Rs 550 crores.

Group Captain Shukla will be accompanied by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and mission commander, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Once docked, the astronauts are scheduled to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprising science, outreach, and commercial activities.

Group Captain Shukla will serve as the astronaut designate and Mission Pilot. He will conduct 7 to 9 experiments in the fields of agriculture, food, and human biology when he travels to the ISS next month.

A decorated test pilot with the IAF, Mr Shukla was shortlisted under ISRO's Human Spaceflight Program (HSP) and is among the top contenders for the Gaganyaan mission, India's first indigenous crewed orbital flight. His journey aboard the Axiom Mission 4 is expected to provide critical hands-on experience in spaceflight operations, launch protocols, microgravity adaptation, and emergency preparedness - all essential for India's crewed space ambitions.

India has also picked Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as a designated astronaut, who will become part of Ax-4 should Group Captain Shukla be unable to fly.

Earlier, Dr Narayanan told NDTV, "He has full confidence in the capabilities of Mr Shukla who would complete the mission successfully".

Underscoring the significance of the upcoming human spaceflight, Minister of State (MoS) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said, "India is ready for its next space milestone".

He also noted that the collaboration with international partners and the strategic momentum of projects like the Gaganyaan Mission reflect India's commitment to becoming a global leader in space technology. He emphasised that these efforts are not only scientific in nature but also aligned with the vision of a developed and self-reliant India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clearly laid out India's long-term ambitions in space, including setting up the 'Bharatiya Antariksha Station' by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

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