The Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, is preparing for liftoff on Wednesday, June 25, at 12:01 PM (IST). The launch, confirmed by SpaceX, is set to proceed with favorable weather conditions. Group Captain Shukla’s role as the pilot of the Ax-4 mission makes this a momentous event for India. He is one of the four astronauts selected for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission.
Born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in June 2006, Shukla is eager to pilot the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS). He brings with him an impressive 2,000 hours of flight experience on various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.
In 2019, Shukla began a year of training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Moscow, Russia. He was recognized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 27, 2024, as one of the astronauts training for India’s first human spaceflight, Gaganyaan.
In a video released by the Ax-4 mission on YouTube, Shukla expressed his enthusiasm for this opportunity. He found out about his selection shortly before the mission and was extremely happy. Shukla views his crewmates as exceptional, and anticipates that these connections will last a lifetime.
Shukla considers his training journey to be incredible and wishes to inspire his countrymen through this mission. He aims to ignite the curiosity of children, believing that even impacting one life would be a significant achievement.
Ax-4 Mission Commander, Peggy Whitson, praised Shukla’s operational capabilities.