"I pray for his safe return...": R Madhavan congratulates Shubhanshu Shukla over Axiom-4 mission

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 25 : Actor R Madhavan on Wednesday hailed the successful launch of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station, carrying Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from Lucknow and three other astronauts.

Speaking to ANI, Madhavan conveyed his best wishes to the Axiom-4 crew and prayed for their safe return.

"After so many years, another Indian is going into space. First of all, I would like to pray for his safe return. I hope that he comes back safe and sound. And I think that for Indians like us, we will be able to break the final frontier and make a name for ourselves in space. And the opportunity to do so has just begun. I really hope that a lot more Indians go there and we will be able to break the final frontier. Congratulations," he said.

Group Captain Shukla who is the pilot of the Axopm 4 or Ax-4 mission along with other four crew members Commander Peggy Whitson of the US, Mission Specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary embarked on a 28-hour journey to the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US.

The Axiom 4 Mission was launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 2:31 am Eastern Time (12 Noon IST).

This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The crew is travelling to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The targeted docking time is approximately 7 am Eastern Time (4 pm IST) on Thursday, June 26.Once docked, the astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprised of science, outreach, and commercial activities.

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