Meet Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla: India’s next man in space

India is preparing for a landmark moment in its space journey as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a decorated Indian Air Force test pilot, is set to become the first Indian in over four decades to travel to space. The 40-year-old officer has been chosen to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) next month as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

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Group Captain Shukla has been training intensively for the past eight months in the U.S. with NASA and Axiom Space, gaining practical knowledge in spaceflight operations and microgravity adaptation. His role as the pilot of the four-member Ax-4 crew is a testament to his aviation expertise and leadership. The mission will be led by veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson, with astronauts from Poland and Hungary also on board.

Selected under ISRO's Human Spaceflight Program, Shukla is one of the top contenders for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission. His journey on Ax-4 is seen as a critical step in building India’s capabilities for future crewed missions.

This mission will make Shukla the second Indian in history to reach space, after Rakesh Sharma’s iconic 1984 flight. For ISRO and India, it marks not just a space mission, but a leap toward long-term human spaceflight goals.