Key Points

The Indian Air Force Group Captain, hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, is heading to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 Mission.

Shukla's father, Shambhu Dayal, expressed that his son's achievement brings pride not only to Lucknow but also to the entire nation.

"...His mission is set to launch around 12 noon IST. We are very eager to see his mission launch. We are delighted. Our blessings are with him, and we also pray to God for his mission to be completed well... He is fully prepared... It feels great to see all the posters that have been put up for him... He is bringing laurels to Lucknow, the state and our country... We are proud of him," Shambhu Sayal said.

Asha Shukla, Shubhanshu's mother, praised her daughter-in-law for her unwavering support ahead of the mission, emphasizing that this achievement wouldn't have been possible without her.

"It is a moment of pride for us and everyone else. Posters are being put up everywhere. Everyone is delighted that a man from this country, this Triveni Nagar, is going to soar so high... We are sending all our wishes and blessings to him... He has all the support of our daughter-in-law. This could not have been possible without her... She has played the biggest role here," she added.

The Axiom-4 mission is targeting a launch window of 2:31 a.m. EDT or 12 noon IST on Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the US.

The crew, piloted by India's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 7 am EDT on Thursday, or 4 pm IST.

The four-member crew, which has been in quarantine in Florida, will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Space's Director of Human Spaceflight. The mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

The Ax-4 mission will "realise the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation's first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.

For Group Captain Shukla, this will be an opportunity to emulate fellow Indian Air Force Officer Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme. Sharma spent seven days in space on board the Salyut 7 space station.

The Ax-4 mission is also conducting major research. The research complement includes around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including the U.S., India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the UAE, and nations across Europe.

For ISRO and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, this mission lays the groundwork for India's space roadmap to land an Indian on the Moon by 2040.

- ANI