Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force has been selected as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

• The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 2025 from Florida.
• Shukla will be the first Indian astronaut to pilot a mission to the ISS, marking a significant milestone in India’s space exploration.
• The Ax-4 mission crew includes veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański, and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu.
• Shukla is an experienced test pilot with nearly 2,000 hours of flying time on aircraft like the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, and Dornier 228.
• He is also one of the four astronaut-designates selected for India’s Gaganyaan mission, the country’s first human spaceflight program.
• The Ax-4 mission aligns with NASA’s goal of transitioning low Earth orbit operations to commercial ventures while focusing on deep space missions like Artemis to the Moon and Mars.