Who is Shubhanshu Shukla, the IAF officer heading to the ISS on Axiom-4 mission?

Shubhanshu Shukla
| Photo Credit: Visveswaran V

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is set to be the first Indian in over four decades to travel to space and board the International Space Station (ISS), with liftoff scheduled for June 11 as part of Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission. The flight, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, marks a significant milestone in India’s growing human spaceflight ambitions.

Also Read: Axiom-4 mission: All eyes on weather conditions as agencies target June 11 launch

The launch, originally scheduled for June 10 but delayed due to weather conditions, is now set for 5:30 p.m. IST on June 11 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Shukla will serve as the mission pilot, joining Commander Peggy Whitson (U.S.), Sławosz Uznański (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) for a two-week mission focused on scientific research and international collaboration.

This mission is part of a privately funded commercial effort, with India reportedly investing over $60 million to facilitate Shukla’s flight to the ISS. ISRO is spending ₹550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.

Who is Shubhanshu Shukla? 

Born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Shubhanshu Shukla completed his schooling from City Montessori School before joining the National Defence Academy. Commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 2006, he has accumulated over 2,000 hours of flying time on a wide range of aircraft including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Jaguar, and Dornier-228. He holds an M.Tech in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

Mr. Shukla was one of four officers selected in 2019 for ISRO’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. He underwent extensive training at Russia’s Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre and ISRO’s Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru. Earlier this year, he was announced as part of the Axiom-4 crew, in what is seen as a crucial step ahead of India’s crewed space missions under Gaganyaan. Shukla, who goes by the nickname “Shux”, will be the second Indian to travel to space, 41 years after his idol Rakesh Sharma undertook a spaceflight in 1984 onboard the erstwhile Soviet Union’s Soyuz spacecraft for an eight-day stay in orbit.

 Earlier this week, the crew addressed a press conference to give an update on the training ahead of the launch. “This is not just my journey; this is the journey of 1.4 billion Indians. Even if this story can change one life or inspire one young person, it will be a success,” Mr. Shukla said. 

What is Axiom-4 mission? 

The Axiom-4 crew is expected to stay aboard the ISS for 14 to 21 days, conducting over 60 experiments in partnership with 31 countries. These range from biomedical research to Earth observation and materials science. Some of the experiments were developed with input from ISRO, offering India valuable scientific and operational insights ahead of the Gaganyaan mission, now expected in 2027.

The Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries’ second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station. This historic mission underscores how Axiom Space is redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit and elevating national space programs globally.