IAF test pilot and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla awarded Ashok Chakra on Republic Day
New Delhi, January 26. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force test pilot and a member of the crew selected for India’s Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was conferred the Ashok Chakra, the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award, during the Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on Monday.
Shukla made history in June 2025 when he became the first Indian national to visit the International Space Station, participating in NASA’s private spaceflight mission Axiom Mission 4. His journey came more than four decades after Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma’s landmark spaceflight in 1984, making Shukla the second Indian to travel to space.
Born on October 10, 1985, Shukla is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla. Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on June 17, 2006, he has accumulated over 2,000 flying hours on a wide range of aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar and Hawk.
He is the youngest among the four IAF pilots selected for India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, which is scheduled for launch in early 2027. The mission will carry two to three astronauts into a 400-km low-Earth orbit for a three-day stay, with a follow-on mission planned shortly thereafter. Gaganyaan forms a key pillar of India’s long-term space vision, which includes establishing the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.
The Ashok Chakra, along with the Param Vir Chakra, is among the few gallantry awards presented during the Republic Day parade. In addition to Shukla, President Droupadi Murmu approved gallantry awards for 70 personnel from the armed forces this year.
Among the awardees are also two women officers who will receive the Shaurya Chakra, India’s third-highest peacetime gallantry medal, reportedly for the first time for completing a demanding circumnavigation sailing expedition last year. Another Gaganyaan astronaut-designate, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, is also among those honoured.
