Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer, has been designated as one of the astronauts for India’s upcoming Axiom-4 mission. Scheduled for May, Shukla will be the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission. This marks a significant milestone in India’s growing space ambitions, with Shukla’s role highlighting the nation’s increasing involvement in space exploration.

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• Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will fly to the ISS in May as part of the Axiom-4 mission
• Shukla is an Indian Air Force officer with over 16 years of service and 2,000+ flying hours
• He is the first Indian astronaut in nearly four decades since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 spaceflight
• Axiom-4 will be the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre
• The mission will use SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, powered by a Falcon 9 rocket
• Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, will command the Axiom-4 mission
• Two other astronauts on the mission: Slawosz Uznanski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary)
• Shukla has trained for 8 months with NASA and Axiom Space for the mission
• He was selected under ISRO’s Human Spaceflight Program and is a top contender for the Gaganyaan mission
• Shukla is a fighter pilot, combat leader, and decorated test pilot with the IAF