NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has been selected as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), NASA announced on Thursday. He will become the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on a private mission.
The mission, a collaboration between NASA and ISRO, will launch in the spring of 2025 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida using a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The crew will spend up to 14 days aboard the ISS conducting scientific experiments, outreach programs, and commercial activities in microgravity.
Shubhanshu Shukla was born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He graduated from the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2005 and was commissioned into the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in June 2006.
ALSO READ: Elon Musk nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for free speech efforts
Shukla is an experienced test pilot and combat leader with over 2,000 hours of flying experience on various aircraft, including the An-32, Jaguar, Hawk, MiG-21, MiG-29, and Su-30 MKI.
In June 2019, he was promoted to wing commander and selected for the IAF’s astronaut program through the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM). In 2021, he underwent basic astronaut training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. After returning, he continued his training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.
In August 2024, ISRO announced Shukla as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4. The mission will make him the second Indian to travel to space, four decades after Rakesh Sharma flew to the Salyut 7 space station. Shubhanshu Shukla is the youngest of three siblings and the first in his family to join the armed forces. He is married to Kamna Shubha Shukla, a dentist.
ALSO READ: Kash Patel’s ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ moment at US Congress sparks debate
His journey to space is being hailed as a proud moment for India, symbolizing the aspirations of 1.4 billion people and India’s growing stature in space exploration.