NASA reveals the possible launch date of India's Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station.

A possible schedule for Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's flight to space has been announced. According to a recent report, Axiom Space's private mission is expected to launch no earlier than May 2025, assuming everything is in order. Shukla is part of the Axiom-4 mission, which is headed to the International Space Station (ISS) and will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This is Axiom Space's fourth mission in cooperation with NASA, and, like the three previous ones, it will have SpaceX as the launch provider.

Initially, the Ax-4 mission was scheduled for late 2024 but has been delayed due to the priorities of other NASA projects. However, training for this mission is already underway, and the team is intensely preparing at facilities in Florida for the launch to this orbital laboratory next spring.

Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer, will be the first Indian astronaut to travel to the space station as part of an agreement between NASA and ISRO. He will take on the role of mission pilot and has been receiving training at Axiom and SpaceX facilities in the United States since 2024. His training includes preparation for handling medical emergencies, operating the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, and conducting photography in space, among other skills.

In addition to his participation in Ax-4, the Indian astronaut is also part of the Gaganyaan team, which was announced in early 2024. The Ax-4 mission will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has spent 665 days in space, the record for a woman. Sunita Williams, with 608 days from a nine-month mission, ranks second. The other two crew members are mission specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungary and astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from the European Space Agency (ESA). The four astronauts will live and conduct experiments for 14 days on the space station.