The Axiom Mission 4 crew began their official mission on the International Space Centre (ISS) aftter a succesfully and smooth docking process by 4.01pm IST, ahead of its scheduled time of 4.30pm IST. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, christened ‘Grace’ by the Ax-4 crew, used its automated system for the docking process.
This was a mighty feat of engineering, given that the ISS travels at a speed of 28,000kmph (it completes an orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes). While the docking was autonomous, Shukla was trained to perform manual docking, if required.
The much-delayed Axiom-4 mission successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida shortly after 12.01pm IST towards ISS on June 25 2025.
Led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson of the US and piloted by India’s own ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, the Axiom-4 mission became the country’s second-ever manned mission to space.
Joining Whitson and Shukla on their journey to the ISS are European Space Agency astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and HUNOR astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
This mission is the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS.
MORE | ‘We are finally back in space’: Shubhanshu Shukla creates history with Axiom-4 mission
“It is like a paradigm shift in how we used to think about space,” Shukla had said in a video released by SpaceX just hours before the launch.
Yet, roughly ten minutes after the successful launch, you could hear the awe in the pilot’s voice when he exclaimed: “What a ride! We are finally back in space after years!”
He then addressed India in Hindi, saying that each and everyone in his country was with him as he carried the Indian flag on his shoulders.
“This is not just the beginning of my journey to the International Space Station; it is a brand new chapter in India’s manned space programme,” he said.
[This was a LIVE story and was updated in real-time]