As Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla prepared to launch into space from Kennedy Space Centre’s historic Pad 39-A, the song playing in his ears was ‘Vande Mataram’, the stirring anthem from Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone’s 2024 film ‘Fighter’. A fighter pilot at heart, the Indian astronaut chose the track not just for its rousing melody, but for the patriotic fervour it represents.
It’s a NASA tradition for astronauts to choose a song to accompany their final drive to the launchpad. For Shukla, this was a moment to honour India’s armed forces and connect emotionally with his roots before venturing into the unknown.
Directed by Siddharth Anand, the movie paid tribute to the Indian armed forces, with the song performed by Vishal Dadlani and others.
Axiom Mission 4
Group Captain Shukla is the designated pilot for Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. He joins NASA’s Dr Peggy Whitson (mission commander), and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
A native of Lucknow and an alumnus of the NDA, Shukla has logged over 2,000 flying hours across a range of aircraft. He is the youngest of four astronauts trained under India’s Gaganyaan programme, and now, the first Indian military pilot to enter space on a private mission.
