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Shubhanshu Shukla to Pilot Axiom Mission 4 to ISS

  • 31 Jan 2025

On 30th January 2025, US agency announced that Indian Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Axiom Mission 4.

  • Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force officer, will serve as the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), scheduled to launch in spring 2025.
  • This mission marks a historic milestone as Shukla becomes the first Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
  • Shukla has also been selected as an astronaut for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission.
  • Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the Ax-4 mission, with Shukla serving as the pilot, alongside European Space Agency astronauts Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu.
  • Axiom Mission 1 in April 2022 was the first private astronaut mission to the ISS, followed by Axiom Mission 2 in May 2023 and Axiom Mission 3 in January 2024.