Exciting news! Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is all set to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) in May this year, as announced by NASA in an update about Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).
Group Captain Shukla will be the astronaut designate and Mission Pilot for this mission. He is currently serving as an officer in the Indian Air Force and will be the second Indian to travel to space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic journey in 1984. Joining him on this mission will be Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and mission commander; Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland; and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
Shukla’s selection for this mission comes after ISRO identified him as a key astronaut for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission, the country’s first human spaceflight program. ISRO has partnered with NASA and Axiom Space for this significant mission.
India has also designated Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as an alternate astronaut for Ax-4 in case Shukla is unable to fly.
Under an agreement between NASA and ISRO, India secured a seat for its astronaut on the upcoming mission to space by Axiom Space Inc, a company based in Houston.
Ax-4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, is set to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carried by the Falcon-9 rocket to the space station. During their stay, which can last up to 14 days, the astronauts will engage in various activities including science experiments, outreach programs, and commercial tasks. This mission will also mark the first time astronauts from Poland and Hungary will stay aboard the ISS.
NASA reported that the previous private astronaut missions to the station, namely Axiom Mission 1, 2, and 3, have been successful with varying durations of stay in orbit.
Shukla’s mission in May will follow the return of Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who recently completed a 286-day mission in space.
