Meet Shubhanshu Shukla, IAF officer who became first Indian astronaut for NASA’s Axiom Mission 4 to ISS

Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the pilot for NASA’s Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) which is a private spaceflight to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in summers 2025.  

The Axiom Mission will take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida onboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and will make Shubhanshu Shukla the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS on a private mission. 

Meet #Ax4's Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla. Shubhanshu is a distinguished pilot in the Indian Air Force and was handpicked as one of the four astronauts for @ISRO's historic Gaganyaan mission, the nation's inaugural human spaceflight endeavor. Learn more:https://t.co/Bb7lDVdq7x. pic.twitter.com/Xjx651864G

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) January 30, 2025

Shubhanshu Shukla is serving two organisations at the same time, a serving IAF officer and part of India’s Gaganyaan programme, he has seen sky and going beyond skies with NASA’s mission. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will become Axiom Space’s director of Human Spaceflight. The two mission specialists are Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a project astronaut from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, both representing the European Space Agency (ESA). 

NASA’s ISS Programme manager Dana Weigel showed excitement for private astronaut missions and highlighted their role in advancing low Earth orbit exploration and expanding access to the microgravity environment. She said, “I am excited to see continued interest and dedication toward private astronaut missions aboard the International Space Station.” 

“As NASA looks toward the future of low Earth orbit, private astronaut missions help pave the way and expand access to the unique microgravity environment,” the NASA said. 

Axiom Space has successfully completed three private astronaut missions to the ISS: Ax-1 (April 2022, 17 days), Ax-2 (May 2023), and Ax-3 (January 2024, 18 days), according to IANS. 

NASA is working closely with SpaceX to ensure the safe return of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 238 days.  

This comes after Elon Musk claimed that former US President Donald Trump asked him to expedite their return, criticizing the Biden administration for leaving them stranded. However, NASA clarified that the astronauts are not in danger and are expected to return in March 2025 as part of the Crew 9 mission.