Gallery
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (AC) is a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and a gaganyatri (astronaut) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
He joined the IAF in June 2006, flew many fighter aircraft, and later worked as a test pilot. In 2019, he was one of four men chosen for training for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission, India’s human spaceflight programme.
In July 2025, he became the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of Axiom Mission 4, a privately organised spaceflight. He is the second Indian to travel to outer space, after Rakesh Sharma in 1984. In 2026, he received the Ashoka Chakra, India’s highest peacetime military decoration.
