Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has been picked to fly on an upcoming Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced.
ISRO said that its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with Axiom Space Inc, USA for its Axiom-4 mission to the space station.
For this, a National Mission Assignment Board has recommended two ‘gaganyatris’ as prime and backup mission pilot for this mission.
While Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has been selected as the prime pilot, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair has been selected as backup.
“The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024,” ISRO said in a statement.
ISRO said that in their mission, the gaganyatris will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS and engage in space outreach activities.
“The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for the Indian Human Space Programme and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA,” the Indian space agency said.
The Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4) is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) conducted by Axiom Space, in partnership with NASA and SpaceX.
Who is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla?
Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on 10 October 1985, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned on 17 June 2006 in the fighter stream of the IAF.
He is a fighter combat leader and a test pilot with approximately 2,000 hours of flying experience. He has flown variety of aircraft, including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc.
Who is Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan?
Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair was born in Thiruvazhiyad, Kerala on 26 August 1976.
He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and recipient of the Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 19 December 1998 in the fighter stream of Indian Air Force (IAF). He is a Cat A flying instructor and a test pilot with approximately 3,000 hours of flying experience. He has flown variety of aircraft, including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc.
He is also the alumnus of United States Staff College and a DS at DSSC, Wellington and FIS, Tambaram. He has commanded a premier fighter Su-30 squadron.
