Shubhanshu Shukla’s ISS Mission: India’s Space Leap in May 2025Greater Noida (National Desk): India’s space journey is going to touch another historic milestone. The central government has announced that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force will leave for the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2025. This mission is not only important from a technical point of view but will also strengthen India’s global space presence.
Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that preparations for this historic mission of India have been completed. He said, “India is going to write a decisive chapter in its space journey. Along with the preparations for Gaganyaan, this mission will give new heights to India’s space dreams.” Group Captain Shukla will be a part of this mission in collaboration with US private space company Axiom Space and NASA. He has been training for this mission for the last eight months. This is a private commercial mission, for which India has invested more than $ 60 million.
Launching will be done by SpaceX
This mission will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA through SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The four-member team will board the Crew Dragon capsule. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will play the role of pilot in this mission.
Diverse international team
This mission named Axiom-4 (Ax-4) will be led by Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and now working in Axiom. The other two members are – Slavoj Uznanski (ESA astronaut) of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, both of whom will be in the role of mission specialist.
Youngest Indian astronaut
40-year-old Shubhanshu Shukla has been selected by ISRO for this mission because he is India’s youngest trained astronaut. Shukla, a respected test pilot of the Indian Air Force, is also a major contender for the Gaganyaan mission under ISRO’s Human Space Flight Program (HSP). Shukla’s journey will be India’s first human space flight after Rakesh Sharma’s historic Soviet mission in 1984. But this time the objective of the mission is not symbolic but commercial, technical and training based.
Strategic and scientific importance
According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, this mission is strategically very important for India. It will not only provide important information like space flight operations, adaptation in microgravity, emergency procedures and launch protocols, but it will also strengthen the foundation for future missions like Gaganyaan. The minister stressed that this mission reflects the maturity of India’s space strategy and its strengthening role at the global level. Through international cooperation and private-government partnership, India is emerging as a visionary, self-reliant and self-confident nation.
A new beginning
This flight of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is not only a scientific achievement but also symbolizes the beginning of India’s new space age. This mission shows that India has now taken bold steps towards becoming not just a participant in the space race but a serious contender.
