In a watershed moment for India’s ambitions in human space exploration, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force has embarked on a 14-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the multinational Axiom-4 mission. This isn’t merely another lift-off—it’s a leap for India’s aspirations to become a full-fledged human spaceflight power, and an investment into the future of Indian space science and technology. Lifted off on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Axiom-4 marks a new chapter in global space collaboration. Docking with the International Space Station on June 26, the mission—born of a commercial partnership between NASA and Houston-based Axiom Space—features astronauts from three nations. During their stay, the crew will conduct 60 scientific experiments, including seven from Indian researchers. These include crucial studies in microgravity, fluid dynamics, biomedicine, and materials science. But beyond the numbers, the presence of an Indian astronaut aboard the ISS for the first time is historic. It has been over 40 years since Rakesh Sharma’s legendary flight aboard a Soviet spacecraft in 1984. In that era, India was a fledgling player hitching a ride in Cold War geopolitics. Today, India is stepping up as an independent, confident, and capable participant in the global space economy, partnering commercially, contributing scientifically, and preparing to fly its own citizens into space under its flag. Shukla’s journey is not a symbolic stunt. It is a strategic test case for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission, which aims to put Indian astronauts into low Earth orbit aboard an Indian spacecraft, launched from Indian soil. Gaganyaan, being developed by ISRO, is India’s first human spaceflight program and is expected to launch within the next two years. The learnings from Axiom-4—both technical and physiological—will be vital to calibrate life-support systems, crew conditioning protocols, mission duration strategies, and microgravity experiment execution under real space conditions.
This mission also marks India’s entry into an elite, but slowly diversifying, club of human spacefarers. As of today, over 600 people have travelled into space, with the United States and Russia accounting for more than 75% of these. Countries like Japan, France, Germany, and China have sent astronauts of their own. India, by contrast, has had just one citizen fly in space—until now. Axiom-4 changes that equation. Importantly, this mission is part of a larger trend in the democratization and commercialization of space travel. No longer confined to superpower rivalries or government-funded space agencies, human spaceflight is now increasingly driven by public-private partnerships and global collaboration. Axiom Space’s model, which offers nations a platform to send their astronauts without having to build end-to-end infrastructure, is exactly the kind of leapfrogging opportunity India must harness until Gaganyaan becomes a full-fledged reality. India’s space ambitions have always had a utilitarian ethos—earth observation, weather forecasting, satellite communication, and now, navigation. But the entry into human spaceflight is a different realm: it is about national pride, scientific leadership, and technological sovereignty. Axiom-4 demonstrates that India is no longer just launching payloads; it is launching people and ideas into space. It is also a timely reminder of what space diplomacy can offer. While China remains absent from the ISS owing to political constraints and Europe struggles with independent crew launch capabilities, India is striking partnerships, building indigenous systems, and earning global respect. Axiom-4 is not the finish line—it is a proving ground. And Group Captain Shukla’s mission is not just a voyage into space, but a bridge between India’s rich scientific heritage and its cosmic future. If all goes as planned, his return will bring not just data from 60 experiments, but renewed energy, experience, and momentum for India’s tryst with the stars. Let there be no doubt: with Axiom-4, India has taken another confident step from ground control to mission command.
