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Shubhanshu Shukla
Indian test pilot and astronaut (born 1985) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is an Indian Air Force test pilot and astronaut. He is one of the four astronaut designates who will fly to space as part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.[2][3]
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Early life and education
Shukla, a native of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, completed his schooling at City Montessori School. Inspired by the 1999 Kargil War, he independently applied for and cleared the UPSC NDA examination. He completed his military training and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the National Defence Academy in 2005.
He was then selected for the flying branch and underwent training at the Indian Air Force Academy. In June 2006, he was commissioned into the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force as a Flying officer.[4][5][6]
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Indian Air Force Career
He is a combat leader and seasoned test pilot with about 2,000 hours of flying experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier 228, and An-32.[7][8]
ISRO Astronaut Career
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Training
Shukla was included in the astronaut selection process in 2019 by the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), an organization under the Indian Air Force for the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. Later, he was shortlisted in the final four by IAM and ISRO. In 2020, He went to Russia for basic training with three other selected astronauts at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Basic training was completed in 2021. He then returned to India and attended training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bangalore. During this time period, he completed his Master of Technology degree from IISc Bangalore in Aerospace Engineering.[3]
His name as a member of the astronaut team was first officially announced in public on 27 February 2024, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the names of the astronaut team members for India's first human space mission at ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.[3][9]
Axiom Mission 4
Shukla has been selected as the pilot for the upcoming Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station. He will join a crew led by commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu. Fellow vyomanaut Prasanth Nair has been designated as the backup crew member; both underwent training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The mission, a collaboration between NASA, SpaceX, and ISRO, aims to strengthen international spaceflight cooperation. If successful, Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS and the second Indian in orbit, after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma. The cost of his seat is estimated in the “mid-$60-million range” (approximately ₹500 crore).[10][11][12][13]
Personal life
Shukla is married to Dr. Kamna, a dentist by profession, and the couple has a four-year-old son. His father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, is a retired government officer, while his mother, Asha Shukla, is a homemaker. He is the youngest of three siblings; his elder sister, Nidhi, holds an MBA degree, and his other elder sister, Suchi, works as a school teacher. In his leisure time, Shukla enjoys engaging in Physical Exercise, reading books on science and space, and has recently developed an interest in horoscope, despite identifying as agnostic.[14][15]
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See also
References
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