In this screengrab from a video posted on January 26, 2026, President Droupadi Murmu confers India’s highest peacetime gallantry award, Ashoka Chakra, to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during the 77th Republic Parade, at Kartavya Path, in New Delhi. Pho(to Credit: YT/@NarendraModi via PTI

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who created history by becoming the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), was on Monday awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award.

In June last year, Shukla became the second Indian to have gone to space and the first one to set foot on the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 mission.

Shukla’s 18-day space odyssey came 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma flew aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984.

As a fighter pilot, Shukla has an impressive record of 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and An-32.

On the eve of the Republic Day, President Droupadi Murmu approved gallantry awards to 70 armed forces personnel, including six who would receive the honour posthumously.

These include one Ashoka Chakra, three Kirti Chakra, 13 Shaurya Chakra, including one posthumous, one Bar to Sena Medal (gallantry) and 44 Sena Medals (gallantry).

The Kirti Chakra award winners are Major Arshdeep Singh, Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba and Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair.

President Murmu Hails GST Reforms On Eve Of 77th Republic Day

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla addresses the felicitation ceremony of Gaganyatris, in New Delhi, on August 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

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ISRO chairman V. Narayanan addresses an ISRO Press Meet, at the National Media Centre in New Delhi on August 21, 2025.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS), in New Delhi on August 21, 2025.
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An Indian astronaut will herald Viksit Bharat by landing on the moon in 2040, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday (August 18, 2025) as the Lok Sabha took up the discussion on astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s space sojourn.

Initiating a discussion on ‘India’s first astronaut aboard the International Space Station — Critical role of the space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047’, Mr. Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook space sector reforms after assuming office in 2014.

Mr. Singh, the Minister of State in the PMO, said after opening up the space sector for private players in 2020, India’s space economy has already reached $8 billion and would touch $45 billion in the next decade.

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He said India will undertake an uncrewed space mission involving a robot ‘Vyommitra’ in 2026, followed by its maiden human spaceflight – Gaganyaan – in 2027.

“India will set up its own Bharat Antariksh Station in 2035 and in 2040, an Indian astronaut will set foot on the moon,” Mr. Singh said.

“Modi ji’s dream of Viksit Bharat in 2047 will be heralded a few years in advance from the moon. An Indian on moon will announce the heralding of Viksit Bharat,” Mr. Singh said.

The discussion remained inconclusive as the House was adjourned due to vociferous protests by the Opposition.

Also Read | Shubhanshu Shukla returns to India; likely to meet PM Modi

All Indians proud of Shukla’s space mission aboard ISS: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor lauded Grp. Capt. Shukla’s feat on Monday (August 18, 2025) and said all Indians are proud of his recent mission that will help serve as a powerful symbol of India’s ambitions in human spaceflight.

He also said Grp. Capt. Shukla’s “historic flight” has inspired a new generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and space studies — all essential for sustaining India’s long-term space goals.

“Since the Opposition are not participating in the special discussion, let me say how proud all Indians are of the recent mission of Commander Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS). It served as a stepping stone to our nation’s own human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan.

“Shukla’s mission provided ISRO invaluable hands-on experience and data that cannot be replicated in simulations. His first-hand observations on pre-launch procedures, spacecraft systems, and the psychological and physiological effects of microgravity are crucial for de-risking and refining the Gaganyaan mission,” Mr. Thaoor said in a post on X.

The Congress leader said the mission allowed for the testing of Indian systems and protocols in a real-life space environment. The numerous scientific experiments, including studies on human health in space and plant growth, will provide technological and scientific validation that will directly help design the life-support and medical systems for Gaganyaan, he noted.

“Shukla’s mission, conducted in partnership with international agencies, reinforced India’s role in global space diplomacy. It demonstrates India’s willingness and capability to engage in multilateral space efforts and opens doors for future joint research and investment.

“Commander Shukla’s historic flight serves as a powerful symbol of India’s ambitions in human spaceflight. It has captured the nation’s imagination, inspiring a new generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and space studies — all essential for sustaining India’s long-term space goals. Well done!” the former Union Minister said in his post.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju earlier urged the opposition parties to participate in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Grp. Capt. Shukla’s successful mission to the ISS and India’s strides in the space sector.

“Our hero astronaut Group Captain Subhanshu Shukla has returned home after a successful mission to International Space Station. Parliament will honour him with a special discussion on his historic milestone and India’s growing space ambitions in our journey towards Viksit Bharat,” Mr. Rijiju said in a post on X.

He urged the members to participate in the same spirit as they had during a debate on Operation Sindoor.

“I hope that all the members will celebrate the achievements of the scientists in the same manner in which they lauded the valour of the armed forces in Operation Sindoor,” Mr. Rijiju said.

The government has proposed a special discussion in the Lok Sabha on the subject, “India’s first astronaut aboard the International Space Station — Critical role of the space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047” — to mark Grp. Capt. Shukla’s space sojourn.

Published – August 18, 2025 04:13 pm IST

Axiom Mission 4 crew clockwise: Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewsk, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu. Photo: X/@Axiom_Space

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be the pilot of the upcoming Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA and its international partners announced on Thursday (January 30, 2025) that they had approved the crew for the mission.

Group Captain Shukla, who is also one of the four astronaut-designates selected for India’s Gaganyaan mission, will become the first Indian astronaut to go to the ISS and the first Indian to go to space in the last 40 years.

The mission to the ISS will be launched from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2025, and the mission crew will spend 14 days on board the space station and will conduct various experiments during the stay.

While former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the commercial mission, Group Captain Shukla will be the pilot.

European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary are also part of the crew.

“Axiom-4 mission is very important for India, and it comes at a very opportune time. I am confident that the lessons learnt during the Axiom-4 mission are going to prove invaluable for our journey back home,” said Group Captain Shukla on Thursday.

Group Captain Shukla, whose mission call sign is ‘Shucks,’ said that witnessing the end-to-end execution of a human space flight mission will provide the crew with key knowledge that will help them fill any gaps they may encounter.

“I also hope to ignite the curiosity of an entire generation in my country through my mission and drive the innovation that will make many such projects possible for us in the future. I also have a personal agenda of capturing my experience on the station through pictures and videos so that I can share this with all the Bharatwasi (Indians) back home; I truly believe that even though, as an individual, I am travelling to space, this is the journey of 1.4 billion people,” he said.

He added that he would demonstrate a few poses of yoga in the ISS and that he would be practising it while they are on the ground. He also said a lot of stuff that represents the regions, particularly India in general, would be taken to the ISS to honour India.

Group Captain Shukla is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on June 17, 2006, in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Fighter Combat Leader and a Test Pilot with approx 2,000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown a variety of aircraft, including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32 etc.

New Delhi:

The ISRO-NASA joint astronaut mission, which will see an Indian travelling to the International Space Station for the first time, is expected to launch between April and June next year and the US-based company facilitating this, Axiom Space, hopes to see Indian rockets used in such missions in the future, a senior official from the company has said. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Pearly Pandya, Director, International Government Business at Axiom Space, who is an Indian-American and was born in Ahmedabad, said the Chandrayaan-3 mission showed that India is emerging as a space superpower. She also shared details of the Axiom-4 mission, under which Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become only the second Indian astronaut in space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984. 

Ms Pandya said Shubhanshu Shukla will be the pilot for the mission that will take the team led by America’s most experienced astronaut, 64-year-old Dr Peggy Annette Whitson, to the International Space Station. Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, who is the backup for Group Captain Shukla, is also undergoing the same training, conducted by Axiom Space.  

“As an Indian-American, this mission has the ability to bridge two of my worlds but the Indian diaspora internationally as well. People are very excited to see India embark on its first mission on the International Space Station (ISS) and it is very exciting for us to have Group Captains Shukla and Nair training with us, it feels very surreal. Their training is going very well. They are learning a lot, they have to learn all the requirements of NASA but are also learning about operations on the ISS from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) side,” she said.

The Axiom official said the Indian astronauts, also known as Gaganyatris, are learning how to operate payloads and conduct scientific research in microgravity.

Ms Pandya said the commercial mission is an end-to-end one for Axiom and it takes care of astronaut training, medical operations and also helps conduct experiments. 

SpaceX Rocket, NASA Training

The Axiom official confirmed that the company will use the SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule in the mission.

She said the astronauts are being trained at NASA facilities like the Johnson Space Center and since Axiom is building the successor to the ISS, some demonstration modules from that are also being worked on. 

In the 10-14 day Axiom-4 mission, the astronauts will be conducting biomedical research, human health research, technology demonstrations and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) outreach, she added.

Indian Rockets?

The Axiom official said the company is looking for a longer collaboration with India. 

To a question on Indian rockets being used for missions to the probable successor to the ISS, which Axiom is building, she said, “I would love to see that. For us, it is important that the supply chain is global and diverse. I think the possibilities and the potential that India has is immense. The successes that we have seen with Chandrayaan-3 have demonstrated that India is emerging to be a space superpower and we are very excited to be a part of that story.” 

On India’s plan to have its own space station, Bharatiya Antariksha Station, by 2035, Ms Pandya said Axiom would be ready to support the country and would be happy to discuss interoperability, building a module, or even working on “space trade”, wherein each station has different capabilities. 

Mission Pilot

Ms Pandya said Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has been assigned the role of mission pilot, pending approval from the ISS multilateral panel.

On his role, Ms Pandya said, “Navigation… a lot of the crew dragon is autonomous but the pilot is able to understand a lot more of the emergency protocols, the docking protocols and have valuable insights into navigation. 

To a question on what Group Captain Nair’s role would be, she said, “He also undergoes a lot of the same training, and the intention is that two of India’s astronauts are prepared for human spaceflight in the future.”

Crew, Commander

The commander of the mission will be former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now works for Axiom Space.

“The assigned commander is the most decorated Axiom astronaut, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. She is an inspiration to so many women in the space sector and beyond,” Ms Pandya said. 

The other two crew members are Slawosz Uznanski from Poland, who is a European Space Agency astronaut and will be a mission specialist. Hungary’s Tibor Kapu will also have the same role.

Ms Pandya said she is also very excited about the statement by Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams, who is at the ISS, that she will be interacting with the Indian astronaut-designates when she returns to Earth. 

“That will play out the ISRO-NASA-Axiom space collaboration perfectly,” she said.

Cost

The Axiom official said the cost per seat on a commercial mission like this is in the “mid-$60 million” range. This is the amount ISRO is likely to have paid, but she did not go into details of whether the cost increases when there is a backup candidate as well. 

New Delhi:

Astronaut Sunita Williams’ mission may have been prolonged because of glitches in the Boeing Starliner capsule but she is in the “safest possible place in space” and there is no cause for concern, ISRO Chairman S Somanath has said. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Tuesday, Mr Somanath was asked whether he had any concerns about Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla going to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year, given that Ms Williams – an Indian-origin astronaut – has been there for two months on what was supposed to be a mission lasting approximately a week.

“That has nothing to do with the ISS. Apart from Ms Williams, there are eight other astronauts, many of whom have been there for a long time. Their plan of return is with some other missions that are yet to be scheduled. The only question with Ms Williams is that she had planned for a week-long mission and should have returned aboard the Boeing starliner, which has faced some technical issues,” the ISRO chief said. 

“But they are in the safest place possible in space, which is the International Space Station, so there is no cause for concern. There is definitely a way to bring them back. Either on the Starliner or some other capsule, two of which are already there. But to bring back a crew trained on one craft with certain specifications to another… switching is not easy, it has never been done before. There are technical issues to be addressed which can be done by the concerned people,” he added.

Mr Somanath emphasised, however, that his expectation is that Ms Williams and her fellow astronaut on the Starliner mission, Barry “Butch” Wilmore, would return to Earth on the Boeing capsule itself. 

“They may delay it to make sure that the Starliner becomes cleared for return,” he said. 

Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore took off aboard the Boeing Starliner in June and have been at the ISS since the sixth of that month. The Starliner has faced glitches in the propulsion system following a series of helium leaks and the astronauts, NASA and Boeing are working on a fix to get them back to Earth. 

Group Captain Shukla will be on the Indo-US Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station, which is expected to launch in early 2025. According to ISRO, the Gaganyatri will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS as well as engage in space outreach activities. The mission will be led by Dr Peggy Annette Whitson, who is America’s most experienced astronaut.