IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Awarded Ashoka Chakra for Historic Space Mission

• IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla received the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award, for becoming the first Indian ISRO astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
• Shukla made history by reaching the ISS on June 26, 2025, via SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, conducting over 60 scientific experiments during his 18-day expedition.
• Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Shukla's backup and Gaganyaan crewmate, was awarded the Kirti Chakra.
• President Droupadi Murmu approved 70 gallantry awards, including one Ashoka Chakra, three Kirti Chakras, and 13 Shaurya Chakras.
• Shukla, an alumnus of City Montessori School, Lucknow, was commissioned as a fighter pilot in 2006 and trained at Russia's Yuri Gagarin Centre for Gaganyaan.

Why It Matters: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla received the Ashoka Chakra for his pioneering space mission to the ISS.