 "Meet Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, prime astronaut for ISS mission")
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced on Friday that Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla was picked for an upcoming Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
While Shukla is the “prime” astronaut recommended for the mission, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair has been selected as the “backup.”
According to Isro sources, the decision was based on a recommendation from Axiom Space Inc, a Nasa-identified service provider.
Isro said that its Human Space Flight Centre has signed a space flight agreement with Axiom Space Inc for their fourth mission to the ISS. For this, the two “gaganyatris” (space travellers) were recommended by the National Mission Assignment Board.
Isro said the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP) will give the final approval for the crew members to fly to the ISS. Their training is scheduled from the first week of August.
Shukla and Nair are also part of the team of astronaut-designates selected for the Gaganyaan mission.
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Group Captain Ajit Krishnan and Group Captain Angad Pratap have also been chosen by the space agency for the Gaganyaan project, which aims to demonstrate India’s indigenous capability to undertake a human space flight mission to low Earth orbit.
Shukla, born in Lucknow on October 10, 1985, is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA).
He was commissioned on 17 June 2006 in the fighter stream of the IAF, Group Captain Samir Gangakhedkar, the public relations officer (Defence) in the Prayagraj region told Hindustan Times.
The spokesperson added that Shukla is a test pilot with approximately 2,000 hours of flying experience. He was a student at City Montessori School’s Aliganj branch, graduating in 2001.
On the achievement, Shukla’s father Shambhu Dayal Shukla said that the family is happy for their son. “We are not nervous at all,” the wing commander’s parents said.
(With inputs from agencies)