Described by his crewmates on the Axiom-4 mission as “operational-savvy” and “focused”, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla had a special Shah Rukh Khan song on his playlist for the launch day. Group Captain Shukla is piloting the Axiom-4 mission onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s iconic Launch Complex 39A in Florida. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla picked ‘Yun hi Chala Chal’ song for his launch day. It is from ‘Swades,’ the Shah Rukh Khan starrer, quite coincidentally about a NASA scientist. His was the song ‘Yun Hi Chala Chala,’ an ode to life road song about travel and more that he has taken to space. The popular song is sung by Udit Narayan, Kailash Kher and Hariharan and is composed by AR Rahman. The lyricist of the song is Javed Akhtar. The 39-year-old, Indian Air Force Group Captain, who propelled himself into history as the first Indian on the International Space Station and only the second to go into space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984, has more than 2,000 hours of flying experience on a wide range of fighter jets over a decade-long career in the Indian Air Force. The Lucknow-born Shukla, who goes by the call sign ‘Shux’, is part of an ISRO-NASA supported commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space that blasted off for a 14-day sojourn to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. As India returns to space after 41 years, Shukla called the journey an “amazing ride” and a proud moment for the nation. Stating that the journey is the beginning of India’s human space programme, he said the chest of Indians “should swell with pride.” In his remarks from onboard the Dragon spacecraft, Shukla said, “Namaskar, my dear countrymen, what a ride. We are back in the space once again after 41 years. It’s an amazing ride. We are revolving around the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometres per second. The Tiranga embossed on my shoulders tells me that I am with all of you.” “This journey of mine is not a beginning to the International Space Station (ISS) but to India’s Human Space Programme. I want all of you to be part of this journey. Your chest, too, should swell with pride. You all also show excitement. Together, let’s initiate India’s Human Space Programme. Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!” he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the successful launch of space mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the US, and wished them success. President Droupadi Murmu said that the whole nation is excited and proud of Shukla’s journey to the stars. “As Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla creates a new milestone in space for India, the whole nation is excited and proud of an Indian’s journey into the stars. He and his fellow astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 from the US, Poland and Hungary prove the world is indeed one family. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’,” the president said in a post on X.