Thirty-nine-year-old Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is all set to fly with a four-member multi-country crew to spend two weeks on the International Space Station (ISS). The trip comes 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma flew to space aboard a Russian Soyuz, becoming the first Indian to do so in 1984. Now, Shukla will only be the second Indian to travel to space and the first to visit the ISS.

Shukla, who joined the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 2006, has over 2,000 hours of flying experience, according to Axiom Space.

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which will be taking off from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, will be led by former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson, known for doing 10 space walks.

Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary are the other two members in the team. Shukla will serve as second-in-command, assisting with spacecraft operations.

Joy, a small, white toy swan, will be ‘the fifth crew member’ on Ax-4.

Shukla said, “It has been an amazing journey so far, but the best is yet to come. As I go into space, I carry not just instruments and equipment, I carry hopes and dreams of a billion hearts. I request all Indians to pray for the success of our mission.” – editor@nrifocus.com