India is brimming with pride after Shubhanshu Shukla became the first astronaut from the country to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday, in a boost to the South Asian giant’s bid to become a space power.

This is the first time in more than 40 years that astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station.

In a moment of pride for India, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla launched into space on Wednesday, June 25, as part of the NASA-Axiom Space Mission Ax-4. India’s Space Milestone: Shubhanshu Shukla Joins Axiom-4 Mission Alongside three other international astronauts,