PM Modi Hails Shubhanshu Shukla’s Historic Space Journey to ISS, Says He ‘Carries Hopes Of 1.4 Billion Indians’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lauded the successful launch of the Axiom-4 space mission, carrying Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla towards the International Space Station (ISS), calling it a moment of immense national pride and stating that Shukla “carries with him the wishes, hopes, and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.”
The Prime Minister’s remarks, shared via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, underscore India’s significant return to human spaceflight after four decades, with Shukla set to become the first Indian to reach the ISS.
The Axiom-4 mission, a privately funded international spaceflight involving astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland, and the United States, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an accomplished Indian Air Force officer and a key astronaut selected under ISRO’s Gaganyaan program, is piloting this landmark journey.
His participation marks him as only the second Indian to ever fly into space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic mission aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.
This collaborative mission, organized by Axiom Space in partnership with NASA and SpaceX, is being keenly watched as a precursor to India’s own ambitious human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, which is anticipated to launch in the coming years.
For India, Shukla’s flight not only symbolizes a significant return to crewed spaceflight endeavors but also expands its presence and influence within the rapidly evolving commercial space sector on the global stage.
