This IAF pilot is about to make history as India’s first astronaut on the ISS

It is now only a matter of weeks before Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla makes history as the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS) — and only the second Indian to venture into space after Wing Commander (retd) Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11.Shukla — a decorated Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and one of the four astronaut-designates under India’s Gaganyaan programme — is set to lift off aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, a reusable space capsule designed for human spaceflight.The 39-year-old’s mission — Ax-4, short for Axiom Mission 4 — is operated by Axiom Space, a US-based private aerospace firm working closely with Nasa to open up commercial access to low-Earth orbit. The mission will launch on a Falcon-9 rocket, SpaceX’s workhorse launcher known for its reusable first stage, from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.This historic flight, if successful, will mark India’s first human presence on the ISS, and serves as a critical milestone ahead of Isro’s own Gaganyaan mission — the country’s maiden attempt to send astronauts to space aboard an Indian spacecraft and rocket.A journey rooted in sky-bound dreamsBorn on October 10, 1985, in Triveni Nagar, Lucknow, Shukla grew up in a household with two older sisters, during a time when India had no active human space programme.“The first Indian astronaut travelled to space in 1984. I was born in 1985. I grew up reading about him in our textbooks and hearing stories from space,” he said in an interaction on January 30. “But the desire to become an astronaut couldn’t take root in me as India didn’t have an active programme.”Instead, a childhood visit to an air show set his sights on a different goal. “The sight of fighter jets slicing through the sky changed everything,” he has often said.At 16, he quietly borrowed a National Defence Academy (NDA) application form from a friend who had opted out — and submitted it without informing his parents. That same quiet resolve would define his life: In 2019, he applied to become an astronaut for Gaganyaan — again, without telling his family.An alumnus of City Montessori School, Lucknow, Shukla was commissioned into the IAF on June 17, 2006, in the fighter stream. Over the years, he built a stellar service record as a Fighter Combat Leader and experimental test pilot, logging over 2,000 hours across aircraft like the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. medium120582436From fighter cockpit to space capsuleThe defining shift came in 2019, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Gaganyaan during his Independence Day speech.Isro reached out to the IAF to identify potential astronaut candidates. Shukla was among those to apply. After clearing physical, psychological, and technical assessments, he was shortlisted among the final four astronaut-designates alongside Group Captains Prashanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, and Angad Prathap.Initial training took place at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bengaluru, followed by a year-long intensive course at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia — the same facility where Rakesh Sharma trained for his mission in the 1980s.In February 2024, PM Modi publicly revealed the names of the four Gaganyaan astronaut candidates. Just months later, Shukla was selected to pilot Axiom Space’s fourth private crewed mission — Ax-4 — to the ISS, becoming the first Indian astronaut to be assigned to a multinational spaceflight mission.“Ax-4 will provide valuable hands-on experience for India,” Shukla had said from Houston, Texas, where Axiom is headquartered. “The lessons we take from this mission will help us refine and prepare our own Gaganyaan flight.” medium120582598Training in a global theatreUnlike the structured regimens he was used to in the military, the Ax-4 training process surprised Shukla with its decentralised model.“This mission involves international partners and so many components that it is very distributed,” he had explained. “It was uncomfortable for me to not know everything at the beginning. But gradually, you repeat, you go over those things, and then everything comes together.”The training spans multiple institutions across the US — including Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre, SpaceX facilities in California, and Axiom’s simulation labs — each covering mission systems, emergency procedures, zero-gravity operations, and life support.Through it all, Shukla has developed a deeper appreciation of the scale and coordination needed in modern space missions. “It’s very exciting to see how so many people — engineers, medics, flight directors — come together to make this happen.”On this flight, Shukla will fly under the call sign “Shux”. The crew is led by Peggy Whitson, the US’ most experienced astronaut, with over 665 days in space. Joining them are Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a European Space Agency reserve astronaut from Poland, and Tibor Kapu, a pilot from the Hungarian Air Force.Carrying a billion hopes to spaceFor Shukla, the Ax-4 mission is about more than scientific experiments or personal achievement. “I may be travelling alone, but this is the journey of 1.4bn people,” he had said.He plans to take along symbolic items that represent India’s cultural diversity. In partnership with Isro, university students were invited to submit ideas for small tokens from different regions. The final selection is under wraps, but Shukla has hinted at a special tribute to Rakesh Sharma: “It will be a surprise for him.”He also hopes to carry Indian food onboard — pending approval — and will attempt to perform yoga asanas in microgravity. “It’d probably demonstrate a few poses of yoga. Most importantly we need to practice yoga while we are on the ground for a healthy body and mind,” Shukla had said. medium120582447A disciplined explorerAt home, Shukla is known by his family nickname “Gunjan”. Those close to him describe him as meticulous and focused — traits that helped him survive one of the world’s toughest astronaut selection processes.He has maintained the same fitness level for over a decade, trains with precision, and is deeply curious about science, space systems, and technology. His wife, a practicing dentist, has been a pillar of support. They have a four-year-old son.Shukla’s parents — Shambhu Dayal and Asha Shukla — and sisters Nidhi and Suchi still live in Lucknow. His home neighbourhood of Triveni Nagar is already preparing to celebrate their most illustrious son.A launch into the futureWith liftoff scheduled for late May or early June, Shukla and the Ax-4 crew are entering the final phase of training. They will soon enter a two-week pre-flight quarantine to protect the ISS from any potential infection.Once onboard the ISS — an orbiting laboratory 400km above Earth — they will spend about two weeks conducting scientific experiments, Earth observation, and technology trials. Shukla will also document the journey for educational outreach.India’s presence on the ISS marks an important moment. For the first time, an Indian will work in one of the most advanced space laboratories in orbit, gaining experience that will directly inform India’s first independent spaceflight — Gaganyaan.Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s story — of a boy who chased jets and ended up piloting a spacecraft — captures the quiet ambition of a nation on the cusp of great things. Whether it’s yoga in microgravity, Indian food in space, his journey is India’s own small step into a larger universe.