Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, a prominent astronaut for India's Gaganyaan mission, has been selected as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4, which is scheduled for Spring 2025.
Shukla, a seasoned fighter pilot, will be part of the four-member crew for the mission, which will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now serves as Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight.
The two mission specialists are Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
The mission will mark a significant milestone for India, Poland, and Hungary, as it will be each country's first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years.
Meet the #Ax4 crew
In a tweet shared by Axiom Space, the organisation introduced the members of the crew, with Shubhanshu Shukla proudly representing India:
Wing Commander Shukla is set to become the second Indian astronaut to go to space, following Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984.
His career began in June 2006 when he was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing.
With over 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32, Shukla’s expertise makes him highly suited for this mission.
In March 2024, Shukla ascended to the rank of Group Captain, a testament to his outstanding contributions.
In 2019, he was invited by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for an intense year-long training programme at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow.
This rigorous preparation paved the way for his selection as one of the astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission, which is set for launch in 2025.
On 27 February 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that Shukla was among the elite astronauts being trained for Gaganyaan.
Shukla was later appointed as the "Prime" astronaut for India's historic Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024, with Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair named as the "Backup" astronaut.
The Gaganyaan mission, which aims to demonstrate India’s human spaceflight capabilities, will involve sending three astronauts to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission before returning safely to Earth by landing in Indian sea waters.
India’s space sector has made significant strides in recent years. Following the success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing and the launch of the Aditya L1 Solar Mission, ISRO has continued to display its prowess globally.
The Gaganyaan programme is set to further solidify India’s role in space exploration.
On 29 January 2025, ISRO also achieved another milestone with the launch of the GSLV-F15 rocket, carrying the NVS-02 satellite from Sriharikota, marking its 100th launch from the country’s spaceport.
Looking forward, India has laid out ambitious plans for further lunar exploration and human spaceflight, with an Indian space station planned by 2035.
Follow us
