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.

The last time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

The Axiom-4 mission carrying Shubhanshu Shukla and crew was launched successfully from Kennedy Space Centre on June 25. The spacecraft will dock at the ISS on June 26 at 4:00 PM IST.