PREVIEW

Indians Celebrate First Astronaut In Space In 41 Years. Indians are celebrating the arrival of their first astronaut in space for the first time in 41 years. Indian Air Force officer Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was among the international crew of Axiom’s Ax-4 mission when it blasted off in the early hours of 25 June 2025. Group Captain Shukla, who is piloting the mission, has become only the second Indian to travel to space more than four decades after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space, flying aboard a Soviet Soyuz mission in 1984. After the spacecraft docks with the International Space Station (ISS) he made history as the first Indian to board NASA’s orbiting laboratory. Group Captain Shukla is joined on the mission by Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, both also representing their countries in space for the first time in more than 40 years. The mission is being led by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.