In a momentous event, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Airforce is set to be the Prime Pilot for Axiom Mission 4(Ax-4) , making him the first Indian Astronaut in 40 years after Rakesh Sharma to travel to the International Space Station. The mission held by Axiom Space in Collaboration with NASA is scheduled to launch abroad a Space X Dragon Spacecraft in the spring of 2025.
Who is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla?
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on October 10, 1985. Since Childhood, Shukla was a brilliant child. To his family Shukla is ‘Gunjan' .
He completed his high school at City Montessori School, Lucknow and after that, he cleared the NDA exam. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune. He was commissioned on June 17, 2006, in the Indian Air Force's Fighter Stream.
He is the first member of his family to join the armed forces. As a fighter combat leader, he has 2000 hours of flying. He has piloted different aircraft including the Sukhoi-3MKI, MIG -21, AN-32, Dornier, Hawk, and Jaguar. He also graduated from the Indian Airforce Test Pilot School as a test pilot in 2018, which significantly helped him in the selection of the first Indian Astronaut for the Mission Gaganyan.
Further, he was recommended as the Prime Pilot in the AXIOM 4 Mission by the National Mission Assignment Board. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he went to Russia for training, and thereafter, he did his training at an Astronaut training facility in Bengaluru. He was promoted to Group Captain in the year 2024.
In a conference, Shubhashu Shukla shared that he used to read the stories of Rakesh Sharma, who was the first Indian on the Moon. His story was inspiring, but he never thought of becoming an astronaut.
What is AXIOM 4 Mission?
Axiom 4 Mission is a private space flight to the International Space Station, operated by AXIOM Space, using Space x Crew. AXIOM Space is a US-based infrastructure development Company, and it focuses on enabling commercial activities like space tourism in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission promotes international partnership by collaborating with a multinational crew and astronauts.
It is the 4th flight to the International Space Station, and the duration of this mission is expected for 14 days. It will be launched from the agency's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The first Mission of AXIOM 1 was launched on April 08, 2022, and returned to Earth on April 25, 2022.