India’s astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has finally embarked on a journey to space. The joint mission of India and America’s space agency i.e. ISRO and NASA, Axiom-4, has finally been launched. This mission was postponed several times before, but now it has been successfully launched today on 25 June 2025 at 12:01 PM IST (2:31 AM EDT) Indian time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. After postponing this mission several times, SpaceX confirmed 90 percent weather compatibility before launching, after which the process of launching this mission was approved to be expedited.
Crew members of this mission
This mission includes a total of four members who have gone into space from Earth. Among them is former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is playing the role of commander. Apart from her, India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, who has also been a Group Captain of the Indian Air Force, is playing the role of pilot. Apart from these two, the names of Poland’s Sławosz Uznanski‑Wiśniewski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu are included as mission specialists.
The name of the rocket that will take the four crew members of Axiom Mission 4, including India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, into space is Falcon 9. Let us explain to you stepwise, in chronological order and in very simple words what happened from beginning to end to launch this mission.
1. Preparation of Falcon 9
- To launch this mission, first the Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket was taken to the LC‑39A pad and installed.
- Before launching this rocket, its static-fire test was conducted in which the LOX (liquid oxygen) system was checked. Let us remind you that last time a leak was found during the launch attempt, due to which the launch was postponed. However, this time the test was completely cleared, after which the rocket was approved to launch.
2. Dragon Capsule C213 Stacking
- After checking the rocket, the Crew Dragon C213 ‘Grace’ capsule was attached to the Falcon 9 Rocket. This is the same capsule in which the four astronauts including Shubhanshu Shukla went on a journey to space.
- After attaching the Dragon capsule to the rocket, the systems were checked and fueling began.
3. Countdown and Sleek Live Moment
- After that the final moment of launch came and the countdown began. All the engines started at T-10 seconds.
- All systems were ‘Go’ from T-0, and then the Falcon 9 rocket exploded into the sky with a bang.
- Immediately after the rocket took off, the voice of the mission’s captain Shubhanshu Shukla came from the Dragon camera, in which he said: “Jai Hind, Jai Bharat”. It is getting emotional support from all over India.
4. Stage separation and landing
- At approximately T+2 minutes (about two minutes after launch), the Falcon 9 first stage booster returned to Earth and successfully landed at Landing Zone‑1, Cape Canaveral.
- On the other hand, Dragon entered the low Earth orbit along with the second stage.
5. Dragon’s journey in orbit
- Dragon’s second stage was separation, fairing deployment and coast phase, after which it slowly started moving towards the International Space Station i.e. ISS.
- According to the schedule of this mission, the Dragon will dock with the Harmony module approximately 28 hours later, on June 26, at around 4:30 pm Indian time.
The Dragon spacecraft will dock with the Harmony Module of the ISS on June 26 at 4:30 PM IST. (Photo Credit: X/ ISRO Spaceflight)
Let us tell you that the Harmony module is a central connection module of the International Space Station. It is also officially called Node 2. This module connects many other parts of the ISS and also works to dock new spacecrafts coming. In simple words, the Harmony Module works to connect the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
| Serial Number | phase | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Preparation for Falcon 9 | The rocket was taken to the LC-39A launchpad and static fire tested. After checking for previous leaks, the test was successful and the launch was approved. |
| 2. | Dragon Capsule Stacking | Crew Dragon C213 ‘Grace’ was attached on top of Falcon 9. Checking of all systems and fueling was completed. |
| 3. | Countdown and launch | Engines started at T-10, launch successful at T-0. Mission Captain Shubhanshu Shukla shouted “Jai Hind, Jai Bharat”. |
| 4. | Stage separation and landing | 2 minutes after launch, the first stage booster landed successfully at Cape Canaveral, and the second stage reached orbit. |
| 5. | Dragon’s orbit journey | Fairing deployed, after coast phase, Dragon headed towards ISS. It will dock with Harmony module after approximately 28 hours. |
| 6. | Docking and entry from the ISS | The Harmony module will connect the Dragon to the ISS. After checking and permission, all four astronauts will enter the station. There will be a safety briefing and medical checkup. |
Many experiments will be done in 14 days
After this process, all the processes will be checked and completed and after everything is fine, all the four astronauts of the mission including Shubhanshu Shukla will go inside the International Space Station. The astronauts already present there will welcome them. After that a small safety briefing and medical checkup will be done. After these procedures, all the astronauts will get busy in fulfilling the objective of Axiom Mission 4. Let us tell you that this is a 14-day mission. During this time they will do many experiments. Let us tell you about some main experiments.
- Growing crops in microgravity
Experiments will be conducted to grow Indian crops like fenugreek and moong in microgravity. During this, it will be observed whether the seeds germinate or not? Do their roots grow or not and if they grow, then how do they grow? Do the crops get nutrition in the low gravity of space or not.
It is important to do this experiment because in the future it will be useful for tasks like farming on planets like Moon and Mars.
- Cell growth and muscle tissue regeneration in microgravity
The second main experiment to be conducted during Axiom Mission 4 will see how human cells and muscle tissues grow in space. Actually, in places with zero gravity, the muscles of the body shrink and the bones start weakening. In such a situation, during this experiment it will be seen how human cells and tissues grow in space.
It is important to do this experiment because it will help in taking care of the health of astronauts going for long-term study and research on Mars, Moon or other planets, and in protecting them and doing bio-medical research.
- Studies on Tardigrades
Tardigrades are very small organisms that can survive even in very harsh conditions like radiation and vacuum. In such a situation, during the Ax-4 mission, this experiment will be done to see how the body of this small organism remains in microgravity? How does its body behave? Do they remain active? Do they mutate?
It is important to do this experiment because if in the future humans go on a distant and long-term space mission, then creatures like tardigrades can give us biological clues about how human life can be kept safe in space.
- Research related to education and screen time
During this experiment, it will be observed how reading-writing habits and screen-use of mobile, tablet, laptop etc. affect human behavior while in space. For example, this experiment will see how well humans can concentrate on their studies in places with microgravity? Does spending too much time on screens affect human sleep or mood?
It is important to conduct this experiment because it is very important to understand the mental health and learning behavior of astronauts who stay in space for a long time, which can affect their mission.
| Serial Number | Name of the experiment | Objectives and significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Growing crops in microgravity | It will be studied whether seeds like fenugreek and moong germinate in space, how the roots grow and whether they get enough nutrition. This experiment will provide important information for farming on the Moon and Mars in the future. |
| 2. | Cell growth and muscle tissue regeneration | It will study how human cells and muscle tissue develop in space. This experiment will help improve health monitoring and body recovery of astronauts living in space. |
| 3. | Studies on Tardigrades | How tardigrades, tiny organisms that can withstand radiation and vacuum, behave in microgravity will be studied. This experiment will help provide biological clues for preparing for man’s long-term space mission. |
| 4. | Education and Screen-Time Research | It will be observed how screen-time and education habits change in space and what effect they have on mood, sleep and mental health. This will help in maintaining the mental balance of astronauts. |