Florida, June 25 -- Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who will pilot the Ax-4 mission is one of the four astronauts picked for ISRO's Gaganyaan mission.

Born on October 10, 1985, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Shukla was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in June 2006. As a combat leader and seasoned test pilot, he boasts an impressive 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

In 2019, he embarked on rigorous training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Moscow, Russia--a year-long preparation that would shape his destiny. On February 27, 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Shukla as one of the elite astronauts undergo...