Who is Shubhanshu Shukla? Indian astronaut chosen to fly to International Space Station

Ahead of India¡¯s Gaganyaan mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has designated Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as the country's prime astronaut to fly to the International Space Station (ISS).

CREDIT: ISRO

Two Indians will be part of US mission

While Group Captain Shukla will be the prime astronaut for the upcoming Indo-US mission, Group Captain Prasanth Nair will also travel to the U.S. and will serve as the backup.

¡°The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended Gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission in the first week of August 2024,¡± ISRO said.

Also read: ISRO Aces Final Test For Gaganyaan Rocket Engine Ready To Launch Humans Into Space

Who is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla?

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla was born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He graduated from the National Defence Academy and joined the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on June 17, 2006.

He has undergone a Fighter Combat Leader course at the prestigious Tactics and Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) school and is a Test Pilot with approximately 2,000 hours of flying experience.

CREDIT: ISRO

Group Captain Shukla, who has flown a variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, BAe Hawk, Dornier, and An-32, was a Wing Commander until he was recently promoted.

ISRO partners with Axiom Space of ISS mission

Ahead of the Gaganyaan mission, ISRO and NASA partnered with the U.S.-based private space habitat company Axiom Space to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS.

CREDIT: ANI

Gaganyaan, India's first human spaceflight mission, slated for launch in 2025, aims to send a manned three-day mission to space, which will orbit 400 km above Earth and then return.

Also read: Gaganyaan: Meet The Four Astronauts For India's First Manned Moon Mission

Astronauts for Gaganyaan mission

In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to ISRO¡¯s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, announced the names of the four astronauts¡ªthree Group Captains and one Wing Commander from the Indian Air Force¡ªchosen for the historic Gaganyaan mission.

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