IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Gets Ashok Chakra for Historic Space Mission
New Delhi, January 26, 2026:
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force has been awarded the Ashok Chakra, the country’s highest peacetime gallantry honour, on the occasion of Republic Day 2026, marking a rare recognition of courage and excellence beyond the battlefield.
The honour acknowledges Shukla’s historic human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which made him the first Indian to visit the ISS and only the second Indian to travel into space, after Rakesh Sharma.
A fighter pilot with over 2,000 flying hours, Shukla was part of the Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) in June 2025. Launched aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, the mission involved high-risk orbital operations and an 18-day stay aboard the ISS, where he conducted more than 60 scientific experiments spanning biomedical research, material science and space agriculture.
Officials said the mission demanded exceptional mental strength, technical precision and courage under extreme conditions — qualities that justified the conferment of the Ashok Chakra, traditionally reserved for the most conspicuous bravery in peacetime.
Commissioned into the IAF in 2006, Shukla has flown frontline aircraft including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29 and Jaguar, and underwent rigorous astronaut training in Russia and the United States before the mission.
The award is being seen as a landmark moment, signalling national recognition of scientific risk-taking and strategic space exploration as acts of gallantry. Shukla’s achievement is also expected to strengthen India’s future human spaceflight ambitions, including the Gaganyaan programme.