24/7 Space News
SPACE TRAVEL
Fighter pilot takes next giant step for India's space plans
Fighter pilot takes next giant step for India's space plans
By Abhaya SRIVASTAVA
New Delhi (AFP) June 5, 2025

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla blasts off into space next week as the first Indian to join the International Space Station (ISS), bearing with him New Delhi's dreams of its own manned space flight.

An airforce fighter pilot, 39-year-old Shukla is joining a four-crew mission launching from the United States with private company Axiom Space, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

He will become the first Indian to join the ISS, and only the second ever in orbit -- an achievement that the world's most populous nation hopes will be a stepping stone for its own human flight.

"I truly believe that even though, as an individual, I am travelling to space, this is the journey of 1.4 billion people," Shukla was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper this year.

Shukla said he hopes to "ignite the curiosity of an entire generation in my country", and "drive the innovation that will make many such projects possible for us in the future".

The airforce group captain -- equivalent to an army colonel or navy captain -- will pilot the commercial mission slated to launch June 10 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a joint team between NASA and ISRO, the Indian Space Research Organisation.

- 'New era' -

India's Department of Space calls it a "defining chapter" in its ambitions, naming Shukla as "among the top contenders" for its maiden human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, "sky craft" in Hindi, scheduled for launch in 2027.

"His journey is more than just a flight -- it's a signal that India is stepping boldly into a new era of space exploration," the Department of Space said ahead of the launch.

New Delhi has paid more than $60 million for the mission, according to Indian media reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced plans to send a man to the Moon by 2040.

India's ISRO said in May that it planned to launch an uncrewed orbital mission later this year, before its first human spaceflight in early 2027.

Shukla's voyage comes four decades after Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma joined a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.

"What sets Shukla's mission apart is its strategic importance," the department added.

"Unlike the symbolic undertones of India's first human spaceflight, this time the focus is on operational readiness and global integration."

Shukla also trained in Russia, in 2020 along with three other astronaut hopefuls, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center -- before further training at ISRO's centre in the southern city of Bengaluru.

He has said the journey aboard the Axiom Mission 4 -- and then the expected 14 days on the ISS -- will provide "invaluable" lessons to bring back home.

- Space yoga -

Shukla will be led by mission commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and joined by European Space Agency project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

The son of a government ministry official, from Lucknow in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Shukla is a veteran fighter pilot experienced in flying Russian Sukhoi and MiG jets.

He has promised to perform yoga poses in the ISS.

If he is unable to fly on Tuesday, fellow airforce pilot Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, 48, is expected to take his place.

India has flexed its ambitions in the last decade with its space programme growing considerably in size and momentum, matching the achievements of established powers at a much cheaper price tag.

In August 2023, it became just the fourth nation to land an unmanned craft on the Moon after Russia, the United States and China.

Waiting at home will be Shukla's family, including his wife and son.

"I've been having goosebumps by just thinking that soon my brother will be in space," his older sister Suchi, a school teacher, told the Times of India newspaper.

abh/pjm/fox/sco

ISS A/S

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SPACE TRAVEL
Vienna calling: Strauss's 'Blue Danube' waltzes into outer space
Vienna (AFP) June 1, 2025
Austrian composer Johann Strauss II's "The Blue Danube" has, for many people, been synonymous with space travel since it was used in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi classic "2001: A Space Odyssey". But the world-famous waltz truly travelled among the stars on Saturday when the European Space Agency's antenna broadcast a live performance of it into space to celebrate the composer's 200th birthday. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra played a concert in the Austrian capital. The concert was broadcast ... read more

SPACE TRAVEL
Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

Conservation leaders join passenger lineup for Blue Origin NS-33 suborbital launch

Fighter pilot takes next giant step for India's space plans

NASA pioneer Dr. Stanley Sander dies at age of 80

SPACE TRAVEL
PLD Space advances MIURA 5 launch capability with TEPREL C engine tests

Axiom-4 mission launch scrubbed as SpaceX detects leak in Falcon 9 rocket

In row with Trump, Musk says will end critical US spaceship program

Kinetica 2 engine test hits milestone with successful multi-engine trial

SPACE TRAVEL
Volcanic discovery at Jezero Crater could reshape timeline of Mars

NASA Mars Orbiter Captures Volcano Peeking Above Morning Cloud Tops

Renowned Mars expert says Trump-Musk axis risks dooming mission

The promise and peril of a crewed Mars mission

SPACE TRAVEL
Chinese rocket delivers e-commerce packages in sea recovery test

China Establishes UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office at Wuhan University

Tiangong returns largest sample set yet for biological and materials science research

Space is a place to found a community not a colony

SPACE TRAVEL
Voyager raises over 400 million in public debut to fuel growth and innovation

AST SpaceMobile Gains Long-Term Access to 45 MHz Mid-Band Spectrum Across North America

EU clears European satellite giant SES bid for US rival Intelsat

SpaceX Launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida

SPACE TRAVEL
Reflect Orbital Selected for SBIR Phase II Contract by AFWERX to Advance Satellite-Based Sunlight Redirection Technology

Aethero Secures $8.4M to Build the Next Generation of Space-Based Computing and Autonomous Spacecraft

Rare earths: China's trump card in trade war with US

Look Up secures major capital boost to expand radar network and space traffic services

SPACE TRAVEL
Super-Earth discovered in habitable zone of Sun-like star via TTV technique, paving way for 'Earth 2.0' searches

ALMA maps evolution of planet-forming gas disks over millions of years

Discovery of giant planet orbiting tiny star challenges theories on planet formation

Silicate clouds discovered in atmosphere of distant exoplanet

SPACE TRAVEL
Unexpected Dust Patterns Found on Uranus Moons Confound Scientists

SwRI study shows Europa's icy surface constantly reshaping

The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise

Jupiter Was Formerly Twice Its Current Size and Had a Much Stronger Magnetic Field

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.