Three, two, one. History

HAILING FROM LUCKNOW, SHUKLA WAS COMMISSIONED IN THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IN 2006, AND HAS OVER 2,000 HOURS OF FLYING EXPERIENCE

- AMITABH SINHA

GROUP CAPTAIN SHUBHANSHU Shukla, who became the second Indian to go into space on Wednesday, is a 39-year-old test pilot in the Indian Air Force, very much like Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space who he idolises and draws inspiration from.

Shukla is the designated pilot for the Axiom-4 mission which set off on its journey to the International Space Station on Wednesday.

Hailing from Lucknow, Shukla was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 2006, and has over 2,000 hours of flying experience. He has flown a variety of IAF fighter jets, including Sukhoi-30 MKIs, MiG-21s, MiG-29s, Jaguars, Hawks, Dorniers, and the AN-32 aircraft.

Shukla was one of the four IAF pilots selected for the Gaganyaan programme, India's maiden attempt at sending humans into space.

The Indian Space Research Organisation was originally aiming to send the first Gaganyaan mission by 2022, to coincide with 75 years of Indian independence, but the mission had to be delayed because of Covid-19 pandemic and other reasons. The mission is now scheduled for a launch in 2027.

Shukla and the three other selected pilots for the Gaganyaan mission underwent extensive astronaut trainings, mainly in Russia. It so happened that the Axiom-4 mission, a result of new cooperation between ISRO and US space agency NASA, came up ahead of the Gaganyaan mission, and Shukla got chosen to go on this.