President Droupadi Murmu, on Monday, January 26th, 202,6 conferred the Ashoka Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award, on Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla for his role in the historic Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS).
The award was presented during the 77th Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path in New Delhi, in recognition of Shukla’s “indomitable courage and outstanding valour” in successfully executing the mission.
In June last year, Shukla became the first Indian to visit the ISS and the second Indian to travel to space, 41 years after Rakesh Sharma’s landmark spaceflight aboard a Soviet mission. Shukla served as the pilot of the Ax-4 mission, which lasted 18 days and marked a major milestone in India’s human spaceflight journey.
The mission was carried out by US-based private firm Axiom Space, in collaboration with NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). During the mission, Shukla conducted a series of advanced scientific experiments that received global recognition from space agencies and experts.
A seasoned fighter pilot, Shukla has over 2,000 hours of flying experience on aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. A native of Lucknow, he was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 2006.
