Shubhanshu Shukla (born 10 October 1985) is an Indian Air Force test pilot and astronaut. In June 2025 he flew as pilot of the Axiom-4 mission, becoming the first Indian to visit the International Space Station and the second Indian in space, 41 years after Rakesh Sharma. He spent 18 days on the station carrying out experiments. He is one of the four astronauts chosen for Gaganyaan, India’s own human spaceflight programme.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Shubhanshu Shukla |
| Born | 10 October 1985, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Age | 41 |
| Service | Indian Air Force (Group Captain) |
| Education | City Montessori School, Lucknow; National Defence Academy; IISc Bengaluru (M.Tech.) |
| Space mission | Axiom Mission 4 (25 June – 15 July 2025) |
| Call sign | “Shux” |
| Spouse | Kamna Shukla |
| Children | 1 |
| Honour | Ashoka Chakra (2026) |
Early Life
Shukla was born in Lucknow, the youngest of three children of Shambhu Dayal Shukla, a government official, and Asha Shukla. He studied at City Montessori School. Inspired by the Kargil War of 1999, he applied to the National Defence Academy without telling his parents and was selected.
Air Force Career
Shukla was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in June 2006. He became a combat leader and test pilot with about 2,000 hours of flying on aircraft including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk and Dornier.
Astronaut
In 2019 Shukla was one of four Air Force pilots chosen as astronauts for the Gaganyaan programme. They trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia and then at ISRO’s facility in Bengaluru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced their names in February 2024.
ISRO chose Shukla to fly on Axiom Mission 4, a private mission to the International Space Station run with NASA and SpaceX. After several delays the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 25 June 2025 with Shukla as pilot, alongside the American commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists from Poland and Hungary. It docked the next day. During 18 days on the station he carried out experiments designed by Indian institutions, including studies of muscle loss, microalgae and the sprouting of seeds in microgravity. Echoing Rakesh Sharma’s famous words, he told the Prime Minister that from space India looked grand and ambitious. The crew splashed down off California on 15 July 2025.
The experience is being used to prepare for Gaganyaan’s first crewed flight and for India’s planned space station. Shukla received a hero’s welcome on his return to India in August 2025.
Personal Life
Shukla is married to Kamna, a dentist whom he has known since school, and they have a son.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Shubhanshu Shukla born?
Shubhanshu Shukla was born on 10 October 1985 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India and is 41 years old.
Featured image: Shubhanshu Shukla speaks from the International Space Station during a video call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 28 June 2025. Photo by Press Information Bureau / NASA, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
