Indian Astronaut-Designate Shubhanshu Shukla Likely To Fly To Space Station In May

Indian astronaut-designate Shubhanshu Shukla is more likely to fly to the Worldwide Space Station (ISS) as quickly as May this yr, the Nationwide Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated in an replace about Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).

Group Captain Shukla serves because the astronaut designate and Mission Pilot.

Mr Shukla, presently serving as an officer within the Indian Air Pressure, will develop into the second Indian to journey to house, 4 a long time after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic feat in 1984. He might be accompanied by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and mission commander; Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland; and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

His choice comes after ISRO recognized him as a key astronaut-designate for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human spaceflight program, aiming to ship as much as three-member crew to a 400 km low Earth orbit for as much as three-day mission. ISRO has collaborated with NASA and Axiom Space for this mission.

India has additionally chosen Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair as a chosen astronaut who will develop into a part of Ax-4 ought to Mr Shukla be unable to fly.

As a part of an settlement between NASA and the Indian Space Analysis Organisation (ISRO), India purchased a seat for its astronaut on the upcoming mission to house by Axiom Space Inc, a Houston-based firm. Nevertheless, the collaboration between the house companies could also be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.

Ax-4, the fourth personal astronaut mission to the ISS, is focused to launch from the Kennedy Space Middle in Florida. It is going to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft hoisted by the Falcon-9 rocket, which is able to fly them to the house station. As soon as docked, the astronauts are scheduled to spend as much as 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprised of science, outreach and business actions. The personal mission additionally carries the primary astronauts from Poland and Hungary to remain aboard the house station.

In line with NASA, the primary personal astronaut mission to the station Axiom Mission 1 lifted off in April 2022 for a 17-day mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. The second personal astronaut mission to the station Axiom Mission 2 launched in May 2023 with 4 personal astronauts who spent eight days in orbit. The newest personal astronaut mission Axiom Mission 3 launched in January 2024, with the crew spending 18 days on the house station.

Ax-4’s seemingly launch in May will come months after Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams returned to Earth after spending 286 days in house.