The Indian Government today announced the names of the four Indian Air Force fighter pilots who will be astronauts on the country’s first ever crewed space mission, Gaganyaan. Trained in Russia, the four pilots are currently undergoing the rest of their mission training at a special ISRO facility in India. The mission, slated for no sooner than 2025, will make India the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to independently send humans into space.
The four fighter pilots will be India’s first humans in space since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma flew into space on board the Russian Soyuz T-11 in April 1984. Several persons of Indian origin have since been on space missions — notably Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams — though the four men announced today will be the first Indian astronauts on a space mission developed and executed entirely by and in India.
The Indian Air Force released the following notes on the four pilots, whose selection has been the subject of much suspense and speculation over the last two years.
Mission commander Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair was born in Thiruvazhiyad, Kerala on 26 Aug 1976. He is alumnus of NDA and recipient of the Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 19 Dec 1998 in the fighter stream of the IAF. He is a Cat A Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approximately 3000 hours of flying experience. He has flown variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Hawk, Dornier and An-32. He is also an alumnus of the United States Staff College and a Directing Staff at DSSC, Wellington and FIS, Tambaram. He has commanded a premier Su-30 squadron.
Gp Capt Ajit Krishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 19 Apr 1982. He is alumnus of the NDA and recipient of the President’s Gold Medal and Sword of Honour at Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 21 Jun 2003 in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approximately 2900 hours of flying experience. He has flown variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-21, Mig-29, Jaguar, Dornier and An-32. He is also an alumnus of the DSSC, Wellington.
Gp Capt Angad Pratap was born in Prayagraj (then Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh on 17 Jul 1982. He is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on 18 Dec 2004 in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approximately 2,000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and An-32.
The youngest of the four, Wg Cdr Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 10 Oct 1985. He is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on 17 Jun 2006 in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force. He is a Fighter Combat Leader and a Test Pilot with approximately 2000 hours of flying experience. He has flown variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and An-32.