India Makes History: Shubhanshu Shukla Docks at International Space Station Aboard SpaceX Dragon ‘Grace’

New Delhi: In a historic milestone for Indian space exploration, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian in 41 years to reach the International Space Station (ISS). The Lucknow-born astronaut, flying aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ‘Grace’, successfully docked at the orbiting laboratory at 4:00 PM IST on Thursday, June 26.

Shukla becomes only the second Indian in space, following Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission, marking a triumphant return for India to human spaceflight.

The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre at 12 noon IST, carried four astronauts:

• Peggy Whitson (Commander, USA)
• Shubhanshu Shukla (Pilot, India)
• Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland)
• Tibor Kapu (Hungary)

The spacecraft docked to the ISS Harmony module’s space-facing port at 6:30 a.m. ET (4:00 p.m. IST), confirmed by SpaceX via X (formerly Twitter) with the message, “Docking confirmed!”

Shukla’s First Message from Space

Speaking from orbit, Shukla shared his emotions and excitement, stating:

“Hello everyone, namaskar from space. I am thrilled to be here with my fellow astronauts. Wow, what a ride it was… When I was sitting in the capsule on the launchpad, the only thought in my mind was: let’s just go.”

He also humorously described learning to move in zero gravity:

“I am learning like a baby; how to walk and eat in space.”

To keep his connection with home, Shukla brought along Indian treats — carrot halwa, moong dal halwa, and mango nectar.

Scientific Mission: ISRO-DBT-NASA Collaboration

The mission is not just symbolic — it’s scientific. Shukla will lead pioneering experiments on food and space nutrition, under a collaboration between ISRO, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and with support from NASA.

Key focus areas include:

• Sustainable life-support systems for long-duration space missions
• Studying the impact of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae, considered a future food source
• Analysis of transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic changes in algal species in space vs. Earth

These experiments aim to advance space-based food technology and prepare for deep space exploration.

This successful mission underscores India’s growing status as a global technology and space power. The Axiom-4 launch reaffirms the country’s capability to contribute significantly to international scientific research and sustainable space exploration.

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