Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the second Indian to journey into space after a 41-year gap, shared a brief moment of camaraderie with fellow Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary during a live broadcast from the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

As Mr Kapu grew visibly emotional during the transmission, Mr Shukla stood up inside the microgravity capsule and offered him a warm embrace. The emotional exchange came during Ax-4’s first in-flight update from low Earth orbit this morning.

The live session, aired by both Axiom Space and SpaceX via their official X (formerly Twitter) handles, marked the first live public address by the crew since their launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre.

Watch live as the Ax-4 astronauts check in from orbit https://t.co/nn1GXw6JdQ — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 26, 2025

Group Captain Shukla, mission pilot for Ax-4, described his ascent into space aboard the Dragon capsule Grace as “magical”.

“Wow, what a ride it was. Frankly, when I was sitting in the capsule Grace yesterday on the launchpad, the only thought in my mind was let’s just go,” Mr Shukla said. “Excitement and all was very far away. There was just this feeling that let us just leave.”

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson (USA), Mission Specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungary), in addition to Group Captain Shukla.

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Mr Shukla, a native of Lucknow and a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, is making history as the first Indian astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS). His journey marks India’s return to human spaceflight after four decades. The last Indian to reach space, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, did so in 1984 aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission.