Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary blast off to ISS

The Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, is piloted by Indian-origin Shubhanshu Shukla.

Shubhanshu Shukla. / X/@SpaceX

A US commercial mission carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary lifted off to the International Space Station on June 25, taking people from these countries to space for the first time in decades.

The Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:31 am (0631 GMT), with a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

Watch Falcon 9 launch Dragon and @Axiom_Space's Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station https://t.co/OJYRpM5JCF
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2025

Peggy Whitson, former The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are European Space Agency project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Meet the crew flying on Dragon for @Axiom_Space’s fourth mission to the @Space_Station → https://t.co/JoT0daagtL pic.twitter.com/eNGk0XPiJE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2025

During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments and demonstrations focused on human research, Earth observation, and life, biological, and material sciences.

Liftoff of Ax-4! pic.twitter.com/RHiVFVdnz3
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2025

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