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 mission has generated a huge interest in India as it comes 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to fly to space aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984.

A SpaceX vehicle carrying four astronauts on a private mission for Axiom Space is on its way to the International Space Station.