Astronaut #634: India's 1st aboard...

Sharma's mission in 1984, was welcomed with embraces and applause by the ISS crew after the docking procedure was successfully completed.

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Continued from Page 1 Sharma's mission in 1984, was welcomed with embraces and applause by the ISS crew after the docking procedure was successfully completed. "With your love and blessings, I have reached the International Space Station," he said in Hindi during a brief address following the hatch opening. "It looks easy to stand here, but my head feels a bit heavy. Still, these are minor issues. This is just the beginning."

His message concluded with a heartfelt "Jai Hind Jai Bharat," evoking pride across the nation.

The Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS at 4:15 pm IST, orbiting approximately 400 km above Earth. Less than two hours later, the hatch was opened, and the crew of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) floated into the station one by one.

Veteran astronaut and mission commander Peggy Whitson entered first, followed by Shukla, European Space Agency engineer Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungarian mechanical engineer Tibor Kapu. The four-member team was welcomed by the seven-member Expedition 73 crew already aboard the ISS.

"#Ax4 crew — commander Peggy Whitson, ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and mission specialist Tibor Kapu — emerges from the Dragon spacecraft and gets their first look at their home in low Earth orbit," read a post by NASA on X.