Goa, June 25 -- After several delays, Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is finally set to make his historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday as part of a four-member crew aboard SpaceX's Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). The private spaceflight, organized by Axiom Space, will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:31 am local time (6:31 am GMT).

The mission, riding a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket, will lift off from the iconic Launch Complex 39A, the same site used for Apollo and Space Shuttle launches. SpaceX has reported a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for the scheduled launch window.

Shukla will serve as the mission's pilot, marking a signif...