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.

ISRO's astronaut Shukla, along with mission commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hundary and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, were welcomed by Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and six others.