6 Stories At 6: India marks a historic return to space after 41 years as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla embarks on the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station. Lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with an international crew, Shukla becomes the first Indian to orbit Earth since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission. This collaborative effort between NASA, Axiom Space, SpaceX, and ISRO will have Shukla piloting the SpaceX Crew Dragon and carrying out seven Indian-developed experiments in microgravity, focused on medical and scientific advancements.