New Delhi: Thirty-eight-year-old Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, one of the four astronaut designates for India’s first human spaceflight Gaganyaan, has been chosen as the prime astronaut to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) for the joint India-US Axiom-4 mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed Friday.
The space agency also said that Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair will be the backup astronaut for the mission.
“A National Mission Assignment Board has recommended two ‘Gaganyatris’ as prime and backup mission pilots for this mission. These are Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (prime) and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (backup),” the ISRO statement read.
“The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP),” it added.
Shukla and Nair are also astronaut designates for the Gaganyaan mission, which is expected to take flight in 2025. The mission aims to launch three astronaut designates into a low-Earth orbit for 400 km for a three-day mission and bring them back safely to Earth.
Four astronaut designates — Indian Air Force Group Captains Nair, Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shukla — have been training extensively for the Gaganyaan mission for the past five years in Russian and Indian facilities.
In February this year, the Prime Minister awarded them the “Antriksh Yatri Pankh” (astronaut wings). In any human spaceflight, an extra member is trained as a backup, for a contingency situation.
Last year, ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre had entered into a Space Flight Agreement with US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-identified service provider Axiom Space for its upcoming Axiom-4 mission to the ISS.
The Polish Space Agency confirmed in a statement Friday that along with pilot Shukla, US’s Peggy Whitson as commander, and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu as mission specialists, will also be part of the crew.
ISRO said the astronaut designates for the Axiom-4 mission will begin training in the first week of August.
“During the mission, the ‘Gaganyatri’ will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS as well as engage in space outreach activities,” the space agency stated.
“The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for India’s human space programme, and will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA,” it added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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