Republic Day honour: President Murmu confers Ashoka Chakra to Axiom-4 pilot Shubhanshu Shukla

President Droupadi Murmu marked Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path with a standout moment — conferring the Ashoka Chakra on Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS).

The President presented the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award to Shukla during the national ceremony on the capital’s central boulevard, placing his space milestone at the heart of this year’s Republic Day honours.

Axiom-4 mission that put an Indian on the ISS

In June last year, Shukla became the second Indian to have gone to space and the first to visit the ISS as part of the historic Axiom-4 mission. His 18-day space odyssey came 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma flew aboard the Russian Soyuz-11 space mission.

Shukla served as pilot for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station and left an indelible mark on India's remarkable advancements in human space exploration.

Fighter pilot with 2,000 flight hours

As a fighter pilot, Shukla has an impressive record of 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32.

After the successful space mission, Group Captain Shukla became a household name as his contribution during the mission, including the conduct of sophisticated experiments, received recognition from global space experts.

Mission partners: Axiom Space, NASA, Esa and ISRO

The Axiom-4 mission was executed by US-based private firm Axiom Space, and it involved NASA, European Space Agency (Esa) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

From Lucknow to the IAF fighter stream

Group Captain Shukla hails from Lucknow. He was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in June 2006.

(With inputs from PTI)