India, Jan. 25 -- Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is expected to be honoured with the Ashok Chakra on Republic Day. According to sources,Shukla will receive the award for becoming the first Indian ISRO astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as a pilot for the privately organised Axiom-4 mission.

Shubhanshu Shukla is a Group Captain and test pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and a gaganyatri (astronaut) with ISRO. In July 2025, he became the first ISRO astronaut to visit the ISS while participating in Axiom Mission 4, a private spaceflight. He is the second Indian to travel to space, following Rakesh Sharma's historic flight in 1984.

Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow as the youngest of three children to Shambhu Da...