India's Shubhanshu Shukla Set To Fly To Space On May 29: All You Need To Know

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

File photo of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.

Source : X

Axiom-4 Space mission, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla along with three others, is scheduled for launch on May 29 at 10:33 PM IST. This mission will make history as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will become the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), reported PTI news agency, citing a spokesperson.

Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as mission pilot, joining three other international astronauts during a two-week stay aboard the orbital laboratory.

He will become the second Indian to venture into space, following Rakesh Sharma, who was the first Indian to travel to space aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 in 1984 through the Interkosmos program.

Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the @Space_Station, is targeted to launch no earlier than 1:03 p.m. EDT, Thursday, May 29, from @NASAKennedy in Florida. 🚀

Private astronaut missions to the station help pave the way toward NASA’s efforts in developing a… pic.twitter.com/H5lojNQQWg

— NASA Space Operations (@NASASpaceOps) April 29, 2025

Shukla’s path to space began in 2019 when ISRO selected him for astronaut training, which he completed at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

The Ax-4 mission also marks a milestone for Poland and Hungary, both of which are returning to human spaceflight after over four decades. It will be the first time astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary travel together to the ISS.

The details of the mission were announced during a press conference by Axiom Space, where it underscored the science experiments being launched to the Space Station with the Ax-4 mission, according to India Today.

Group Head for Microgravity Platforms and Research at ISRO, Tushar Phadnis, said, "Seven Indian experiments flying on Ax-4 were selected through a rigorous process and underwent thorough reviews. The suitability of each experiment for a short-duration mission, along with adherence to safety protocols, were key selection criteria."

Who Is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla?

According to the Axiom Mission 4 website, Shubhanshu Shukla was born on October 10, 1985, in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. Currently, he holds the rank of Group Captain in the IAF as a decorated test pilot with over 2,000 hours of flying experience.

He was commissioned into the fighting wing of the IAF in June 2006 and gained a handful of experience after flying a range of aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

Later, Shubhanshu Shukla was elevated to the rank of Group Captain in March 2024 and was also appointed as an astronaut-designate for India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.