Axiom Mission: Lucknow’s IAF Officer Shubhanshu Shukla to be FIRST Indian astronaut to go to ISS

Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and ISRO astronaut from Lucknow, has been appointed as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). It is a private spaceflight set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA announced on Thursday. His flight, scheduled for May 2025, will mark a milestone in India’s growing presence in space.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, is an Indian Air Force test pilot with over 2,000 flight hours. He excelled academically at City Montessori School in Lucknow, showing a strong interest in technology and aviation.

In 2019, Shukla was selected for ISRO's Gaganyaan mission and trained at Russia's Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. The Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human spaceflight, is scheduled for 2025. It will carry four astronauts, all experienced Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots, including Shukla.

In 2024, he was chosen to pilot Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station, making him the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS. He is currently undergoing training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the United States. For the people of Lucknow, and India as a whole, Shubanshu's upcoming space journey is a moment of immense pride.

Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a private spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Axiom Space. The mission will feature astronauts from the United States, India, Poland, and Hungary, marking the first time these nations collaborate on an ISS mission.

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, will command the mission. Mission Specialists include ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The mission will involve collaboration between NASA, ISRO, the European Space Agency, and the Japanese Space Agency.