Indian Astronaut-Designate Shubhanshu Shukla To Fly To Space Station in May

New Delhi:

Announcing a timeline for what will be a huge milestone in India’s space journey, the Centre has said Gaganyatri, or astronaut-designate, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will fly to the International Space Station next month. 

Union Minister for Space and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said, “The International space mission carrying an Indian astronaut is scheduled for next month. India is poised to script a defining chapter in its space journey. An Indian astronaut is set for a historic space mission as ISRO charts bold new frontiers. India’s space dreams are soaring higher with Gaganyaan preparations, ISS mission, and a summer of launches.”

Group Captain Shukla, who has been training with NASA and the private space company Axiom Space for the past eight months, is flying to the ISS on a private commercial mission for which India has paid upwards of $60 million. The mission will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the crew of four will be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

The Group Captain is 40 years old and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chose the youngest of its astronaut designates for this mission as he has a long career ahead of him.