"India's Giant Leap: Shubhanshu Shukla to Space After 41 Years"

Today is going to be a historic day for India. Indian Gaganyaat Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is leaving for the International Space Station (ISS) today i.e. Wednesday. The Axiom-4 mission, carrying India's Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts, will take off from Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39A today at around 12 noon. After a 28-hour journey, the spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) at around 04:30 pm on Thursday. After Rakesh Sharma, an Indian astronaut will go to space after 41 years.

By doing so, he will become the first Indian to visit the ISS. At the same time, he will become the second Indian to go to space after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 mission.

SpaceX has announced that the weather is 90% favorable for the expected flight today on Wednesday. SpaceX, which is providing transport for this space mission, said in a post on social media platform X, "All systems are looking good for the launch of Axiom_Space's Ax-4 mission to the space station on Wednesday and the weather is also looking 90% favorable for the flight.

Launch will be done at Kennedy Space Center in Florida

US space agency NASA said, "NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX are now setting a target of 12.01 pm Indian time today, Wednesday, June 25, for the launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4. This mission will fly from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket, the crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Axium-4 mission postponed 6 times

On May 29, the launch was postponed due to the Dragon spacecraft not being ready.

It was scheduled for June 8. The Falcon-9 rocket was not ready for launch.

A new date of June 10 was given. Again it was postponed due to bad weather.

For the fourth time the mission was scheduled for June 11. This time oxygen leaked.

A new date of June 19 was given. It was postponed due to uncertainty of weather and health of crew members.

For the sixth time the mission was scheduled for June 22. Additional time was needed to evaluate the Zvezda service module of the ISS. So the mission was postponed.

Who is Shubhanshu Shukla?

Shubhanshu was born in 1986 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He did his studies from the National Defense Academy (NDA). He joined the Air Force in 2006 and has experience flying fighter jets. He has also been selected for ISRO's Gaganyaan mission, India's first human space mission. To become an astronaut, he took special training in Russia and America. In this, he learned to work in microgravity, emergency handling, and scientific experiments.

Stars can also be achieved ... ', said Shubhanshu Shukla before the launch of the mission

Before the launch, Shubhanshu Shukla said, "I want to tell the people of India that this mission is a milestone and I request India to pray for the success of this mission. Even stars can be achieved. Shubhanshu Shukla serves as a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force. He is fully prepared for his most awaited and challenging flight into space. At the same time, the whole country is waiting for the launch.