India’s Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Says Launch Was ‘Surreal’ in First Message from Space

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-year-old Indian Air Force pilot turned astronaut, shared his first message from space today, just hours after launching aboard the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission marks India’s return to human spaceflight after a 41-year hiatus.

“Hello everyone, namaskar from space. I’m thrilled to be here with my fellow astronauts. What a ride it was!” said Group Captain Shukla in a video message from orbit. “Sitting in the capsule on the launchpad, all I could think was—let’s go.

Describing the launch aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Shukla said, “When the ride began, it was intense—you’re pushed back into your seat. And then suddenly, there’s nothing. You’re floating in the vacuum.”

Still strapped into his seat during the message, Shukla reflected on the surreal early moments of spaceflight. “I’m learning like a baby—how to walk, how to eat up here,” he said.

Candid about the physical adjustment to microgravity, Shukla added, “I wasn’t feeling great when we shot into space, to be honest. But I’ve apparently been sleeping a lot since yesterday.”

Shukla is part of a four-member international crew on the Ax-4 mission, led by Commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut with three prior spaceflights. The team also includes mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland

The launch was watched live by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s family, along with thousands of well-wishers gathered at public viewing events across India, Hungary, Poland, and the United States. From Lucknow to Budapest, Gdańsk to Houston, crowds erupted in celebration as the SpaceX Falcon 9 roared off from the iconic Launch Complex 39A—the very pad that sent Apollo 11 to the Moon in 1969.

With this mission, Shukla becomes only the second Indian citizen to travel to space—and the first to reach the International Space Station, now orbiting Earth at a velocity of 7.5 kilometers per second. The last Indian to go to space was Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew aboard a Soviet mission in April 1984.

Originally scheduled for launch on May 29, the mission faced a series of delays due to adverse weather and technical issues with both the Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule. NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom teams worked for nearly a month to resolve the anomalies before achieving a flawless launch