The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), set to take off from Nasa's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida next week, will be piloted by an Indian as it soars
towards the International Space Station (ISS).
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the
Indian air force is among the four-member multi-country crew of Ax-4
that will be spending two weeks on the ISS.
The
flight, scheduled for 10 June at 08:22 EDT (12:22GMT; 17:52IST), has
generated a huge interest in India as Group Captain Shukla will only be
the second Indian ever to travel to space and the first to visit the
ISS.
The trip comes 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to fly to space aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984. He spent nearly eight days there.
Ax-4
is led by former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson - a space veteran who has
been commander of ISS twice, spent hundreds of days in space and done
10 space walks.
The team also
includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from
Hungary - just like the Indian astronaut, they will also be taking their
countries back to space after more than four decades.
Experts
say the pilot's role is key, as he would serve as second-in-command to
the mission commander, assisting with spacecraft operations during
launch, docking, undocking and return to Earth.