President Joe Biden announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit in June 2023 that an Indian astronaut will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS). According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), two Indian astronauts will begin training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas starting August. One of these astronauts, who previously underwent basic training at Moscow’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, will participate in the joint India-US mission to the ISS.
The mission, scheduled to be conducted by American private companies SpaceX and Axiom by the end of 2024, aims to equip Indian astronauts with essential skills. Former ISRO chairman K Sivan highlighted that this mission will familiarize Indian astronauts with advanced technologies, crucial for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan programme. The Gaganyaan programme plans to launch three astronauts aboard an Indian rocket for a short-duration mission in a 400 km orbit, anticipated by 2026. Selected for this mission are Group Captains Prashanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made history in 1984 when he spent eight days aboard the Salyut 7 space station, a milestone in India-Soviet space collaboration.