Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla to become second Indian in space with ISS flight this May

IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla

Indian Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla is preparing for a major journey. He is set to become the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma. If all goes as planned, he will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) in May. NASA confirmed this in an update on Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).

Shukla, a Group Captain, has been named as the mission pilot. He will travel alongside former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Polish astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu. This mission will be the fourth private astronaut flight organised by Axiom Space.

India’s Role in Ax-4 and Gaganyaan

Shukla was chosen for Ax-4 after being identified as a key astronaut for Gaganyaan. This is India’s first human spaceflight programme, planned by ISRO. Gaganyaan aims to send a three-member crew into low Earth orbit for three days. Another Indian astronaut, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, is also designated for Ax-4. He will step in if Shukla is unable to fly.

India secured a seat on the Ax-4 mission through an agreement with NASA and Axiom Space. The Houston-based company specialises in private space missions. The partnership between ISRO and NASA could continue beyond this mission.

Ax-4 Mission Details

Ax-4 is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, powered by a Falcon 9 rocket, will carry the astronauts. Once they arrive at the ISS, they will spend up to 14 days conducting experiments and outreach activities.

This mission follows previous private astronaut missions by Axiom Space. Ax-1 launched in April 2022 for a 17-day stay. Ax-2 flew in May 2023, with astronauts spending eight days aboard the ISS. Ax-3 took place in January 2024, lasting 18 days.

If Ax-4 launches as planned, it will come just months after NASA astronaut Sunita Williams returned from a 286-day mission in space.