Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission's astronaut-designate Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mantra is ‘to dream big’

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilot chosen for Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission next month, is set to become the first Indian to visit the International Space Station.

The 39-year-old astronaut-designate will pilot India’s first human spaceflight in 41 years since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh announced this recently.

Group Captain Shukla is currently training in Houston, US and cannot speak to the media, as per protocol.

However, his sister, science teacher Suchi Shukla tells us, “He is super-excited about it. We’re a little scared, but we are very happy and proud of him. I am getting goosebumps and shivers as we speak as it will be a moment of pride for all of us as 'humre India se koi jaa raha hai’ and the world is talking about is a very big achievement.”

Suchi quotes him, “His favourite line these days is to ‘dream big’. He says: ‘If you dream big then kahin na kahin to approach karke pahuchogey. And, once you reach that point and people will start recognising you, loving you and giving their best wishes – everything gets aligned. It all starts with dreaming big.’ Who knew a boy from Lucknow will make it and he did.”

He was shortlisted under ISRO’s Human Spaceflight Program (HSP) and is among the top contenders for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first indigenous crewed orbital flight. Minister Narendra Modi confirmed Group Captain Shukla’s participation in ISRO’s Human Spaceflight Program at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram last February.

“The mission was announced in 2018; it was my desire to explore more in life that made me apply. Around 70 pilots had applied and the selection took almost a year,” Group Captain Shukla said in an earlier interview.

Suchi shares, “Becoming a pilot was not on his mind, but the Kargil War of 1999 made an impact on him.” After graduating City Montessori School, Aliganj, Lucknow in 2001, he joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) and was commissioned into the IAF in 2006.

“His friend got an NDA form but decided not to go; so he [Shubhanshu] randomly filled the form. After clearing the exam, he took permission and went for it,” Suchi explains.

Group Captain Shukla shares a five-year-old son with his wife, dentist Dr Kamna Shubha Shukla, whom he married in 2009. His family lives in the Triveni Nagar locality in Lucknow and his father Shambhu Dayal Shukla has retired from Secretariate while his mother Asha Shukla is a housewife.

Shubhanshu was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on June 17, 2006. A highly experienced combat leader and test pilot, Shukla has logged over 2,000 flight hours on a wide range of aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.