India, June 25 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the successful launch of the Axiom-4 space mission carrying Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. Shukla is the mission pilot on Axiom-4.

"We welcome the successful launch of the Space Mission carrying astronauts from India, Hungary, Poland and the US," Modi said in a post on X.

While highlighting that Shukla was on his way to become the first Indian astronaut on the International Space Station, Modi said, "He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians."

Modi also wished success to the other astronauts - mission commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from H...