After Sunita Williams' return, SpaceX Dragon will fly this Indian Astronaut to ISS - Know all about Axiom-4 Mission

Group Captain Shukla is an ace pilot in the Indian Air Force. Born on October 19, 1985 in Uttar Pradesh’s capital city Lucknow, Shukla was commissioned in IAF’s fighter win in 2006. A

With NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore successfully returning to Earth, the focus now shifts to the next trip by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has strong India connection.

For the first time in country’s space history, an Indian will travel to the International Space Station. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be part of Axiom Mission 4, which will be launched sometime in spring this year. Shukla will be the mission pilot.

Other members of the crew include Commander Peggy Whitson from the US, Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungaryand and Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from the European Space Agency.

The Axiom Space Mission, also called Ax-4 will be launched from space station located in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX will fly these astronauts to the ISS.

This private astronaut mission, which is part of a greater collaboration between ISRO and NASA, will see Shukla and other members of the crew spending 14 days on the ISS. Group Captain Shukla is also part of India’s ambitious Gaganyaan mission.

The Ax-4 mission will help India is sending a human into the space after a gap of four decades. Rakesh Sharma was the last Indian who went in space. Like Shukla Sharma was an IAF officer.

Group Captain Shukla is an ace pilot in the Indian Air Force. Born on October 19, 1985 in Uttar Pradesh’s capital city Lucknow, Shukla was commissioned in IAF’s fighter win in 2006. A seasoned test pilot, the officer has over 2,000 hours of flight experience. He has flown various combat jet such as Hawk, Mig-29, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Dornier. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced Group Captain Shukla as one of the members of the Gagganyaan crew.

The Axiom Space Mission will be very crucial for ISRO, which is aiming to launch the Ganganyaan mission this year itself. The space agency will closely monitor all the manoeuvres and the learning from the space mission.