Gaganyaan: Meet the astronaut designates for ISRO's first human spaceflight mission

DH Web Desk

Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair

NDA alumnus and a recipient of the Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy. Nair was commissioned on Dec. 19, 1998. A Category A Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx.  3,000 hours of flying experience, Nair has flown Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc.

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Credit: X/@ISROSpaceflight

Group Captain Ajit Krishnan

Alumnus of NDA and DSSC, Wellington. Recipient of the President’s Gold Medal and Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy. Ajit was commissioned on June 21, 2003, in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with about 2,900 hours of flying experience. He has flown a variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-21, Mig-29, Jaguar, Dornier, An-32 etc.

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Credit: X/@ISROSpaceflight

Group Captain Angad Pratap

An NDA alumnus, he was commissioned in the IAF fighter stream on December 18, 2004. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot who has approximately 2,000 hours of flying experience. Aircraft flown include Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

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Credit: X/@ISROSpaceflight

Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla

The NDA alumnus was commissioned on June 17, 2006 in the fighter stream of IAF. A Fighter Combat Leader and a Test Pilot with about 2,000 hours of flying experience, Shukla has flown several aircraft, including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

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Credit: X/@ISROSpaceflight