When Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla soared into space aboard the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), he took a piece of India with him. Not only in spirit but in song.

Composer AR Rahman's iconic track Yun Hi Chala Chal from the 2004 Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Swades” was Mr Shukla's chosen anthem for the launch day.

The song, with its message of perseverance and moving forward, couldn't have been a more fitting companion as Mr Shukla lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday. It was part of a special launch-day playlist, personally curated by the Ax-4 crew, and shared by Axiom Space on X with the caption, "Pass the Aux! The #Ax4 crew share their launch-day playlist."

Mr Shukla's pick was one of four tracks selected by each astronaut on the Ax-4 mission:

The Axiom 4 mission, operated by Houston-based Axiom Space, is part of a growing number of private missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Shukla is now the second Indian astronaut, first was Rakesh Sharma in 1984, to reach space though as part of a commercial space mission and the first one aboard the ISS.

Shortly after entering orbit, Shubhanshu Shukla addressed his fellow countrymen with an emotional video message, "Namaskar, my dear countrymen! What a ride! We are back in space after 41 years. We're orbiting Earth at 7.5 km per second. The Tiranga on my shoulder reminds me that I carry all of you with me."

The Ax-4 crew launched aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which was set to autonomously dock with the ISS after a 28-hour flight, cruising at an altitude of around 400 km above Earth. Upon arrival, the crew is expected to be greeted by the current station residents: three American astronauts, one Japanese astronaut, and three Russian cosmonauts.