Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force created history today by becoming the second Indian to travel to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma—and the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a commercial spaceflight.
Shukla’s remarkable academic and professional journey spans disciplines as diverse as computer science, military aviation, and aerospace engineering.
Hailing from Lucknow, he completed his schooling at City Montessori School’s Aliganj campus. His ambition to serve the country was ignited by the 1999 Kargil War, which inspired him to clear the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam.
At NDA, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 2005, marking his first academic milestone. He then went on to receive pilot training at the Indian Air Force Academy. He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in 2006.
His thirst for advanced knowledge led him to pursue a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru—one of India’s most prestigious research institutions.
In 2019, he was chosen for India’s Gaganyaan mission, entering the elite astronaut training programme. He received rigorous instruction at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, completing the course in 2021, followed by mission-specific training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.
Now part of the Axiom-4 mission, Group Captain Shukla’s unique blend of technical expertise, military discipline, and academic excellence has made him a trailblazer in India’s space exploration journey.