New Delhi: President Droupadi welcomed the successful launch of the Axiom-4 space mission and said that Indian astronaut Subhanshu Shukla created new milestone, asserting that the whole nation is excited and proud of an Indian’s journey to space. Shukla scripted history today by embarking on a space odyssey along with three other astronauts from the US, Poland and Hungary to the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space.
“As Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla creates a new milestone in space for India, the whole nation is excited and proud of an Indian’s journey into the stars. He and his fellow astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 from the US, Poland and Hungary prove the world is indeed one family – ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. My best wishes for the success of this mission, which reflects the enduring partnership between NASA and ISRO,” she posted on X. The President further said that the wide ranging experiments to be performed by the crew will lead to new frontiers of scientific studies and space exploration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the historic launch and said that Shukla carries with him “hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians”.
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“We welcome the successful launch of the Space Mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the US. The Indian Astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is on the way to become the first Indian to go to International Space Station. He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!” PM Modi wrote on X.
The much-delayed Axiom-4 mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 pm IST towards the ISS. The Lucknow-born Shukla, former NASA astronaut Mission Commander Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are part of the Axiom-4 mission that marks the return to space for the three nations.
Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station after four decades. In 1984, Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma flew on board Soyuz T-11 to the then Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station.
