Who is Shubhanshu Shukla? IAF pilot will become the second Indian after Rakesh Sharma to space
Upon successful arrival at the International Space Station, Shukla will become the second Indian after IAF wing commander Rakesh Sharma, forty years before 1984, as part of a joint mission between India and the former Soviet Union.
Indian test pilot Shubhanshu Shukla will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) with three other astronauts in a few weeks.
Shukla is the team captain of the Indian Air Force (IAF) – who will be the main mission pilot for the Axiom Mission 4 (AX-4), which may be launched next month.
So who is Shubhanshu Shukla?
The second Indian in space
Shukla, 39, was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in 1985.
Upon successful arrival at the International Space Station, Shukla will become the second Indian after IAF wing commander Rakesh Sharma, forty years before 1984, as part of a joint mission between India and the former Soviet Union.
Under the leadership of the AX-4, Shukla will be accompanied by Peggy Whitson (former NASA astronaut and mission commander), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
ISRO-NASA Cooperation
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) works with NASA and Axiom Space, a Houston-based space infrastructure company, to take care of the mission.
India also chose IAF Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as the backup pilot for the mission in case Shukla was unable to fly.
About AX-4 Mission
The AX-4 is ISS’ fourth private astronaut mission, planned to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. It will be launched on SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft, which is hoisted by Falcon-9 Rocket. The four astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days on the International Space Station for science, outreach and commercial activities.
