For the first time, astronauts from India, Hungary, and Poland fly to the ISS: mission details.

Astronauts from India, Hungary, and Poland have launched to the ISS as part of the commercial mission Ax-4

The first astronauts from India, Hungary, and Poland have completed a flight to the International Space Station as part of the commercial mission Ax-4. This was reported by the SpaceX press service.

On Tuesday, June 24, the Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX embarked on a historic flight from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral in Florida. On board the Crew Dragon capsule were Indian military pilot Shubhan Shucla, Hungarian engineer Tibor Kapu, Polish engineer Slawosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.

The Ax-4 mission to the ISS is scheduled for two weeks, during which the mission participants will conduct scientific experiments at the station.

Liftoff of Ax-4! pic.twitter.com/RHiVFVdnz3

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2025

The cost of the flight, according to media reports, is about 70 million euros per passenger.

History of missions to the ISS and future plans

The Ax-4 mission is already the fourth commercial space mission from Axiom Space, in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX. The previous three missions took place in 2022-2024, with the last one lasting three weeks and becoming the longest commercial flight in space.

Overall, throughout the history of the ISS, over 300 flights have been made to the station, yet astronauts from India, Hungary, and Poland have not been among them. Representatives from these three countries have previously experienced space flights during Soviet missions in the 1970s and 1980s.

The further development of commercial space missions appears as both an increase in the number of participants and flight durations, as well as the expansion of the geography of represented countries in space. The new Ax-4 mission opens up new opportunities for collaboration and research at the ISS involving astronauts from various countries around the world.