Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla set for space mission in May

Indian astronaut-designate Shubhanshu Shukla is expected to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as May this year, according to an update from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).

Group Captain Shukla has been designated as the astronaut and Mission Pilot for the mission.

Currently serving as an officer in the Indian Air Force, Shukla will become the second Indian to journey into space, nearly four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's historic flight in 1984. He will be joined by mission commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut; Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland; and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

His selection follows the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) identification of him as a key astronaut for India’s Gaganyaan mission, the country’s first human spaceflight program. Gaganyaan aims to send a three-member crew into a 400 km low-Earth orbit for up to three days. As part of this initiative, ISRO has partnered with NASA and Axiom Space.

India has also designated Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as a backup astronaut for Ax-4, who will take Shukla’s place if needed.

Under an agreement between NASA and ISRO, India has secured a seat for its astronaut on this Axiom Space Inc. mission, a Houston-based company facilitating private space travel. The collaboration between the two space agencies may be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump.

Ax-4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket. Once docked at the ISS, the crew is expected to spend up to 14 days conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. This mission also marks the first time astronauts from Poland and Hungary will stay aboard the space station.

NASA noted that the first private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 1, launched in April 2022 for a 17-day stay aboard the ISS. The second mission, Axiom Mission 2, took place in May 2023, with four private astronauts spending eight days in orbit. The most recent, Axiom Mission 3, lifted off in January 2024, with its crew spending 18 days at the station.

The anticipated May launch of Ax-4 comes just months after Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams returned to Earth following a 286-day space mission.