Axiom-4 Mission Launch LIVE: President Murmu Congratulates India's Shubhanshu Shukla As He Heads To Space

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Wednesday made history by becoming only the second Indian to venture into space and the first on an Space Station (ISS) mission. As the nation celebrates this milestone, one question is echoing across social media and curious minds: Will Shukla be paid a salary for this prestigious mission?

The short answer is — no, Shukla will not receive any salary for his 14-day stay in space. READ MORE

President Droupadi Murmu congratulated Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla for achieving a new milestone in space for India.

“As Group Captain Subhanshu 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. The wide ranging experiments to be performed by the crew will lead to new frontiers of scientific studies and space exploration,” he said in a post on X.

Taking to X, Jitendra Singh wrote, “Congratulations Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla — you are the first Indian Astronaut set to embark on a mission to the Space Station.”

“Indeed a proud moment for India!” he added.

“Namaskar, my dear countrymen! What a ride! We are back in the space once again after 41 years. It’s an amazing ride. We are revolving around the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometres per second,” Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s said in the first message from Space.

“The Tiranga embossed on my shoulders tells me that I am with all of you. This journey of mine is not a beginning to the Space Station (ISS) but to India’s Human Space Programme. I want all of you to be part of this journey. Your chest, too, should swell with pride…Together, let’s initiate India’s Human Space Programme. Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!” he added.

Axiom 4 Mission Launch Live Updates: Axiom-4 lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US. The mission is being piloted by India’s IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. The crew is travelling to the Space Station (ISS) on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.

Shubhanshu Shukla Axiom 4 Mission Live Updates: “As we plan to leave the planet early morning of 25 Jun, I wish to thank everyone who has been involved in this mission for their support and also to all the people back home for their blessings and love,” Shubhanshu Shukla wrote on Instagram, adding a special word of thanks for his wife.

“Special thanks to Kamna for being the wonderful partner that you are. Without you none of this was possible but more importantly none of this would matter,” said Shukla. He also shared a photograph that shows them saying goodbye through opposite sides a glass wall.

Shubhanshu Shukla Axiom 4 Mission Live Updates: As Shubhanshu Shukla embarks on his historic space journey to the Space Station (ISS), his family back home in Lucknow is brimming with pride and emotion.

His mother, Asha Shukla, expressed her overwhelming joy, saying, “We cannot describe this in words… We are not scared for Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla at all… We are delighted, we are very proud.”

Shubhanshu Shukla Axiom 4 Mission Live Updates: Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12.01 pm (India Time) with a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

The LIVE coverage of the launch can will be streamed by SpaceX and Axiom Space.