The Dragon spacecraft carrying four astronauts, including India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
Docking Completed Over the Atlantic Ocean
The spacecraft gently connected with the ISS at 4:01 PM IST while flying over the North Atlantic Ocean. The docking process was completed by 4:15 PM IST. NASA broadcasted the event live, showing the spacecraft slowly approaching and connecting with the ISS.
A Proud Moment for India
This mission is historic for India, as Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to enter the International Space Station.
The Launch and Journey
The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission took off on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew includes:
- Commander Peggy Whitson from the United States
- Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland
- Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungary
- Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India
The team traveled for 28 hours aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which was launched into space by the Falcon 9 rocket.
Shukla’s First Experience in Space
Before reaching the ISS, Shukla shared his feelings and experiences from the Dragon spacecraft. He said living in microgravity felt like being a baby again, learning everything from scratch. He also said it was an incredible feeling to float in space while orbiting Earth.
In a touching moment, Shukla greeted everyone on Earth by saying, “Namaskar from space”.
He also mentioned that after staying in quarantine for 30 days before launch, he was eager to begin the mission and shared, “The only thought in my mind was, let us just go.”
