Wed Jun 25 06:30:00 UTC 2025: ## Indian Air Force Pilot to Launch from Historic Apollo 11 Launchpad
**Cape Canaveral, FL -** In a moment of national pride, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from the iconic Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on June 25, 2025. This launch pad, a hallowed ground in space exploration history, famously served as the departure point for Neil Armstrong’s historic Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969.
Shukla’s mission, Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4), is a collaborative effort between Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX. He will serve as the pilot alongside Commander Peggy Whitson (a former NASA astronaut), Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański, and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu. The crew will travel aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft.
The journey to the ISS is expected to take approximately 28 hours, involving orbital adjustments and safety checks. Once aboard the ISS, Shukla will spend 14 days conducting experiments, including seven developed by Indian scientists and five by NASA, covering areas such as plant cultivation, the impact of space on the human body, and the practice of yoga. He also plans to share aspects of Indian culture on board, including traditional sweets and a toy swan named “Joy.”
Launch Pad 39A, originally built for the Apollo missions, has a storied past, having supported all Apollo missions from 1967 to 1973, and later NASA’s Space Shuttle program from 1981 to 2011. Since 2008, it has been leased by SpaceX and now serves as a hub for private space missions. Shukla’s mission from this historic location marks a new chapter in India’s space exploration endeavors, blending cutting-edge technology with a legacy of human achievement.
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