Space hero Shubhanshu Shukla honored with Ashok Chakra by President

New Delhi. President Draupadi Murmu honored Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force with Ashok Chakra on the occasion of Republic Day. The President presented this honor in a grand ceremony organized on the duty road of the capital.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla created history and achieved the distinction of becoming the first Indian to step onto the International Space Station (ISS). In June 2025, he completed an 18-day space journey under the historic Axiom Mission-4. He became the second Indian to go to space, while Rakesh Sharma had previously traveled to space in 1984 through the Soviet Union’s Soyuz-11 mission.

Journey from space flight to Ashok Chakra award

• As an experienced fighter pilot, Shubhanshu Shukla has over 2,000 hours of flying experience.
• He has flown many aircraft like Sukhoi-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and AN-32.
• During the Axiom-4 mission, he played the role of pilot and conducted many advanced scientific experiments in space, which were appreciated by global space experts.
• This mission was operated by the US private company Axiom Space, with the participation of NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).