IAF officer Shubhanshu Shukla to be first Indian astronaut to fly to ISS on NASA’s Axiom Mission 4

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Shubhanshu Shukla Axiom IAF Shubhanshu Shukla is simply a distinguished combatant aviator successful the IAF. (Image credit: axiomspace.com)

Shubhanshu Shukla, a Group Captain successful the Indian Air Force, has been selected arsenic the aviator for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS), making him the archetypal Indian astronaut to undertake a commercialized abstraction mission. The mission, a collaboration betwixt NASA, ISRO, and Axiom Space, is acceptable to motorboat aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from Florida successful 2025.

Shukla, 39, a distinguished combatant aviator successful the IAF, expressed his enthusiasm for going into microgravity, successful an online property conference, and added that helium would effort to execute immoderate yoga postures connected the ISS.

Shukla, the designated aviator for the mission, volition articulation an elite unit led by erstwhile NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, who volition bid the mission. The squad besides includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary arsenic ngo specialists.

According to NASA, the Ax-4 unit volition walk up to 14 days aboard the ISS, conducting technological research, outreach programs, and commercialized activities. The ngo volition besides spot the archetypal astronauts from Poland and Hungary enactment successful an extended ISS stay.

Beyond his duties arsenic a pilot, Shubhanshu Shukla intends to instrumentality items representing India’s affluent taste diverseness to space. He revealed that ISRO has tasked an Indian assemblage with selecting artifacts that symbolise the nation.

The astronaut besides shared his excitement astir introducing Indian cuisine to his chap unit members.

From Cockpit to Cosmos

A decorated combat person and trial pilot, Shukla, a Lucknow native, was commissioned into the IAF combatant helping successful June 2006 and has implicit 2,000 hours of formation acquisition crossed craft specified arsenic the Su-30MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. His skills earned him a promotion to Group Captain successful March 2024.

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In 2019, helium was selected by ISRO for India’s archetypal quality spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan. He underwent rigorous grooming astatine the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center successful Russia, preparing him for aboriginal missions. On February 27, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially introduced Shukla arsenic 1 of the astronauts grooming for Gaganyaan, which is scheduled for motorboat successful 2025.

Shukla said the acquisition connected the Axiom Mission 4 would beryllium precise utile for him for the Gaganyaan mission.

(With PTI inputs)

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