Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla shares his first in-flight experience on the Axiom-4 mission

The crew piloted by Indias Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is currently travelling to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft The crew members shared their inflight experience on Thursday through social media platform XEarlier on Wednesday Subhanshu Shukla along with three other crew members lifted off from NASAs Kennedy Space Centre at around 12 noon in a Falcon 9 rocket The targeted docking time is approximately 700 am EDT on Thursday or 4 pm ISTWhile the Axiom Mission 4 Ax4 crew shared their first inflight update from orbit during the early hours of Wednesday their visuals offered a glimpse into their experience inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft en route to the International Space Station ISSFirst opportunity to talk live with the Ax4 crew onorbit will be in roughly 15 minutes at 147 am ET this morning pictwittercomiMJOlbZn4Umdash SpaceX SpaceX June 26 2025While posting on social media handle X Axiom Space said Tune in LIVE with the Ax4 crew for their FIRST inflight event at 0147 AM EDTAmerican space agency SpaceX also confirmed the interaction between the crew members and the space station by posting First opportunity to talk live with the Ax4 crew onorbit will be in roughly 15 minutes at 147 am ET this morningDuring the live session Indian Air Force IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla who is serving as the mission pilot described the launch as magical and reflected on his journey as per ANIWatch live as the Ax4 astronauts check in from orbit httpstconn1GXw6JdQmdash SpaceX SpaceX June 26 2025Subhanshu Shukla said I am thrilled to be here with my fellow astronautswhat a ride it was Honestly as I sat in the capsule Grace on the launchpad yesterday after 30 days of quarantine all I could think was just go When the launch finally happened it was something else entirely Youre pushed back into the seatand then suddenly theres silence Youre just floating in the vacuum and its absolutely magicalThe Indian Air Force captain who is currently one of the crew members of the Axiom4 mission expressed gratitude to the mission team calling the overall experience a collective achievementShukla also said I truly appreciate the efforts of each and every individual who made this journey possible Its not just a personal accomplishmentit belongs to all of usReferring to the swan mascot aboard Dragon Shukla added This swan symbolises wisdom and grace It may seem like a coincidence but to me it carries deeper meaningof serenity strength and purposeRecounting the final moments before liftoff Shubanhsu said We were in the capsule for nearly three hours and while that wait can feel long when the moment of the launch came it was unlike anything wed imagined Weve been training for those few minutes and seconds for so long I was just grateful to finally live the momentAlong with Shubhanshu Shukla the mission specialist Slawosz UznanskiWisniewski while expressing his views said We had so much fun so much joy Every time I look at our mascot Joy I think about the future and how far weve comeConsidering that Shubanshu Shukla has been following the footsteps of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharmamdashthe first Indian to travel to space in 1984 aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T11mdashthis mission is particularly significant for himSubhanshu Shuklarsquos other fellow crew member and mission specialist Tibor Kapu remarked on the diversity of the Ax4 team The four of us represent a significant part of the planetthree continents and four countries including India the United States and the European Union Together we stand for about 203037 of the worlds population When we look out of the window we see all of you We are proud to represent you in spaceAstronaut Peggy Whitson added Its been a fantastic experience so far We have so many people cheering for us down on Earth and were excited for the mission aheadEarlier the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft lifted off from NASAs Kennedy Space Centre at around 12 noon on Wednesday with Shukla Whitson UznanskiWisniewski and Kapu onboard The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISSs Harmony module at 430 pm IST on ThursdayWith ANI Inputs