Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla is poised to become the first Indian in four decades to journey into space, with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) designating him as the ‘primary’ astronaut for the inaugural ISRO-NASA mission to the International Space Station, anticipated to commence after October this year.
On Friday, ISRO announced the selection of Shukla, 39, and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, 48, for the Axiom-4 mission, appointing Shukla as the ‘prime’ astronaut, implying his primary role in traveling to the ISS. Nair serves as the contingency astronaut, ready to step in should Shukla be unable to proceed.
To date, Rakesh Sharma remains the sole Indian to have ventured into space, having done so in 1984 as a wing commander aboard a Soviet spacecraft. Shukla and Nair are among four Indian Air Force officers chosen for India’s pioneering manned space mission, Gaganyaan, slated for a tentative launch next year.
According to an ISRO official, the duo will engage in eight weeks of mission-specific training. The Axiom-4 mission, orchestrated by private space enterprise Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA, will be propelled by a SpaceX rocket. Joining Shukla will be three astronauts from Poland, Hungary, and the United States. This mission is the result of an accord between New Delhi and Washington during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S. visit last year.
The Axiom-4 spacecraft will remain affixed to the ISS for a duration of 14 days, ferrying not just astronauts but also cargo and supplies to the station. A launch date has not been pinpointed. According to NASA’s website, the mission is planned for no earlier than October 2024, but Poland’s space agency recently suggested the mission could slip into next year. Shukla is a fighter pilot from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and was commissioned into the IAF in 2006.
He has spent more than 2,000 hours on many IAF fighter jets, including Sukhoi-30 MKIs, MiG-21s, MiG-29s, Jaguars, Hawks, Dorniers, and the AN-32 aircraft. Nair, who won the Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy, was commissioned into the IAF in 1998. A category ‘A’ flying instructor and test pilot, having flown over 3,000 hours, he is an alumnus of the United States Staff College and has commanded a Sukhoi-30 squadron.
The Gaganyaan mission of India draws on the experience and expertise gained from the Indian astronauts’ experiences with the ISS mission. “This is a collaborative effort between the two countries with the United States, and it benefits both,” said Somanath, chairman of ISRO, in 2023. “Training in the US and the subsequent discussions will enhance a lot in designing our Gaganyaan mission.”