Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla etched his name into Indian space history by becoming the second Indian to cross the Karman line, following in the footsteps of Rakesh Sharma. Shukla is aboard the Axiom-4 mission’s ‘Dragon’ capsule, named ‘Grace’, which launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 2:31am ET (12:01pm IST) on Wednesday.

In the pilot seat of “Grace”, the Axiom-4 space capsule that will take a four-member crew to the International Space Station on Thursday, was India’s second spaceflight astronaut.

“Namaskar, mere praan desh vasiyon”, Shukla radioed to Earth minutes after entering space. “What a ride!” Travelling at a speed of 27,000 kmph, Shukla’s journey marks a major leap in India’s aspirations for human spaceflight. The late Prime Minister Modi’s office issued a statement praising Shukla’s role in India’s sky reaching ambitions.

Shukla becomes the first Indian to cross the “Karman line” in over 41 years, after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s flight on the Soviet Soyuz T-11 on April 3, 1984. Shukla’s message from space: “This isn’t the beginning of my journey to ISS, but I began dreaming of this journey decades ago. Let this not be India’s final frontier.” India aims to send its own space station by 2035 and crewed missions within the next five years.

The Axiom-4 crew includes commander Peggy Whitson (US), mission specialists Sławosz Ukawski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). After a heartfelt crew handover ceremony, the astronauts boarded ‘Grace’ and lifted off amid high anticipation. The capsule separated from the Falcon 9 rocket nine minutes post-launch and began its 20-22 hour orbital chase of the ISS.

‘Grace’ is guided by real-time AI systems, using GPS, radars, and star sensors for navigation. With docking expected at 4:30pm IST Thursday, the crew is set for a 14-day mission aboard the ISS.

As Shubhanshu Shukla and his fellow crewmates inch closer to the International Space Station aboard Grace, the mission brings us closer to our space ambitions.