Updated: June 26, 2025 05:42 IST 7 min read | As Axiom-4 and Shubhanshu Shukla lift off, so does India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X after the liftoff, said, “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 the 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!” The Axiom-4 mission, originally scheduled to launch in May, faced multiple delays because of weather and technical problems. A small uncertainty hung over the launch Wednesday as well, even after the astronauts had entered the capsule, as some updated data took time to get uploaded to the spacecraft’s software. Shukla was seen shuffling and shaking his legs as he waited, and exulted mildly when the all-clear was announced. ISRO chairman V Narayanan who, along with a ISRO team, had been in the US since the start of this month for the launch, said he was extremely happy that the mission had finally launched after all technical problems had been addressed. Story continues below this ad “Today, we were 100% sure about the safety of not just our own astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, but the other three brothers and sister who are going to space with him. Congratulations to all,” Narayanan told The Indian Express from the US. Watch