Shubhanshu Shukla Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography

Shubhanshu Shukla is a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force (IAF). He made headlines in 2024 after his name was announced as one of the astronauts for the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first manned space mission, Gaganyaan.

Wiki/Biography

Shubhanshu Shukla aka Shubanshu Shukla ^[1]Bharat Rakshak was born on Thursday, 10 October 1985 (age 38 years; as of 2023) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. His zodiac sign is Libra. His father came to Lucknow from Sandila, Hardoi in 1973 and made his house in the Triveni Nagar area of Lucknow in 1980.  He did his schooling at City Montessori School, Aliganj, Lucknow and passed 12th standard in 2001. ^[2]Instagram – City Montessori School He passed the  National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam in 2002; Interestingly, he borrowed the exam form from a friend who changed his mind. He later joined the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 10″

Weight (approx.): 70 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, is a retired secretary of Uttar Pradesh minister, and his mother, Asha Shukla, is a homemaker.

He has two elder sisters named Nidhi Shukla, who holds an MBA degree, and Shuchi Mishra who is a teacher at Tender Hearts School, Lucknow.

Wife & Children

His wife, Kamna Shubha Shukla, is a dentist and hails from Jankipuram, Lucknow; her father’s name is Braja Mohan Misra. The couple have a son born in 2020.

Religion/Religious Views

He is agnostic but he believes in horoscopes.

Career

Indian Air Force (IAF)

He was a member of the 177 Course and was commissioned in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 17 June 2006; his service number and branch is 29014 F(P). He is a fighter combat leader and a test pilot with approximately 2,000 hours of flying experience. He has flown different types of aircraft, including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. On 17 June 2019, he was promoted to the position of Wing Commander.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

In 2019, he was selected by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for training at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City of Moscow Oblast, Russia and trained there for one year from February 2020 to March 2021.

Views from the #Indian astronauts' training programme during their time in Russia.

• Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair
• Group Captain Ajit Krishnan
• Group Captain Angad Prathap
• Wing Commander Shubhansku Shukla#Gaganyaan #ISRO pic.twitter.com/833zX4nLJG

— ISRO InSight (@ISROSight) February 27, 2024

On 27 February 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave wings to Shubhanshu Shukla and other three astronaut-designates for Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight program, scheduled to be launched in 2024-2025.

Shukla is a specialist in spacecraft systems, space physiology, and emergency procedures. ^[3]The Indian Express

Shukla was chosen as the primary astronaut and Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair was selected as the backup for the Axiom 4 Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under an agreement between ISRO and Axiom Space Inc. in August 2024.

Facts/Trivia

• His father said in an interview that Shubhanshu’s nature is very reserved. He did not tell them anything until he cleared the NDA exam and later became a part of ISRO’s Gaganyaan program. He never shares any details about his missions with them. When he was doing the Balakot strike (Operation Bandar) in 2019, he was not in contact with his family for many days.

• He likes reading books on space and learning different things about evolving technology.

• When he told his mother that he was going to become an astronaut, she told him to not become a part of any such program.

• His friends and family fondly call him by his nickname Gunjan.