All you need to know about Shubhanshu Shukla: India's 'prime astronaut' for India-US mission to International Space Station

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been selected for an upcoming Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Friday.

In an official release, the ISRO said its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with US' Axiom Space Inc. for its fourth mission to the ISS and a National Mission Assignment Board has "recommended two 'gaganyatris' (astronauts) --Group Captain Shukla (prime) and Group Captain Nair (backup)".

Group Captain Shukla's name has been recommended as the primary astronaut and Nair will be his backup, ISRO said.

Who is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla?

- Indian Air Force pilot Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow on October 10 , 1985.

- The NDA alumnus was commissioned on June 17, 2006 in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

- A Fighter Combat Leader and a Test Pilot with about 2,000 hours of flying experience, Shukla has flown aircraft that include Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

- Shukla reportedly was motivated to join the armed forces after he read about the heroic tales of Kargil soldiers. He was 14 years old when the war broke out in 1999.

- Shukla is among the four astronauts whose names were announced by Modi earlier this year for India's maiden human spaceflight mission in 2025.

"The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024," ISRO said.

During the mission, the 'gaganyatris' will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS and engage in space outreach activities, it said.

This comes as India and the US are collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024, American President Joe Biden said after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last year.

(With DHNS, PTI inputs)