Shubhanshu Shukla becomes first Indian to reach ISS, 41 years after Rakesh Sharma

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla scripted history by embarking on a space odyssey along with three others to the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space on Wednesday.

The much-delayed Axiom-4 mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 12:01 pm IST towards the ISS amid cheers from watch parties organised across the world, including at Shukla's City Montessori School in Lucknow, where his parents witnessed the historic launch.

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 astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, a journey that comes 41 years after Rakesh Sharma’s eight days in orbit as part of the then Soviet Union's Salyut-7 space station in 1984.

"Greetings from India.. have a fun time guys," Sharma said in a video message.

The targeted docking time is approximately 4.30 pm IST on Thursday, June 26, NASA said in a statement.