Moment of Arrival At ISS: Watch Shubhanshu Shukla Exchange Greetings, Hugs With Crew At International Space Station After Axiom-4 Successful Docking

New Delhi: The Axiom-4 mission piloted by Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, along with the other crew, docked at the International Space Station at around 4:01 pm on Thursday. Upon successful docking and opening of the hatch, Shubhanshu was seen greeting the crew members with hugs and handshakes. 

As the crew entered the space station after opening the hatches of the spacecraft successfully, they greeted themselves by hugging and handshaking after eagerly waiting for their safe arrival from Earth onboard the Dragon spacecraft.

On June 25, the Axiom-4 crew successfully lifted off into the special onboard SpaceX’s Dragon aircraft after a continuous back-to-back delays.

Watch | NASA Astronauts Exchange Greetings And Hug With Axiom-4 Crew 

Axiom-4 crew members

The Axiom-4 crew includes Mission Specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisieswski of Poland, Tibor Kapu of Hungary, and Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, a former NASA astronaut who now works for the company Axiom Space that organises private spacelifts, among other things. 

Captain crew Shubhanshu Shukla

Shubhanshu Shukla is the mission pilot and India’s second astronaut going into space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who made history in 1984. ISRO chose the 39-year-old fighter pilot as the prime astronaut for this historic flight.

All About the Axiom-4 Mission

Axiom Mission 4 (Axiom-4) is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Axiom Space, in collaboration with SpaceX and NASA.

The mission was scheduled for launch on June 22, 2025, which was later postponed to June 25, 2025. The mission will utilise a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and a Falcon 9 rocket.