India has honoured two of its finest air warriors with the nation's highest recognitions for gallantry and distinguished service during peace time, drawing a powerful line of continuity from the country's earliest human spaceflight days to its newest place in global space exploration.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India's first astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS), has been awarded the Ashoka Chakra, while Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, a fighter ace and backup astronaut for the historic mission, has been awarded the Kirti Chakra.
The awards evoke a strong sense of history. India's first astronaut, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, was conferred the Ashoka Chakra in 1985 following his landmark spaceflight aboard the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. Air Commodore Ravish Malhotra, the backup astronaut for that mission, was awarded the Kirti Chakra. Nearly four decades later, history has remarkably repeated itself.
Group Captain Shukla flew to the International Space Station on an 18-day mission and conducted seven India-specific experiments. He learnt first-hand the experience of handling micro-gravity. His mission cost India about Rs 550 crore and was an essential step in India's ambitious Gaganyaan program that hopes to send an Indian on indigenous technology to space from Sriharikota in the next few years and finally land an Indian on the moon by 2040.
Shukla, 40, performed his tasks to the best of his ability and was the mission pilot for the Flacon 9 rocket and SpaceX Crew Dragon.
His colleagues describe him as a man of few words but super intelligent. While his work as a Gaganyatri continues, he has re-started his career in the Air Force flying the Hawks.
A Trailblazer in Space
Born in Lucknow on October 10, 1985, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on June 17, 2006. A fighter combat leader and test pilot, Shukla has logged over 2,000 hours of flying, operating frontline aircraft such as the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier and An-32
Known by his call sign "Shux", Shukla entered history in 2025 as the first Indian to reach the International Space Station, as part of the Axiom 4 mission, also referred to as Mission Akash Ganga. Soft-spoken and intensely private, Shukla is widely described by his instructors as a man of exceptional intellect.
Yet the mission that would define his place in history came perilously close to being aborted.
"Let's be honest - spaceflight isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's a risky business," Shukla said on October 25, 2025, after returning from his mission. His words understated the drama that unfolded before the rocket ever left the ground.
A Mission Almost Pulled Back
The Axiom 4 mission, led by Axiom Space with NASA and SpaceX, was troubled from the outset. Repeated technical snags led to unprecedented delays, pushing the four-member crew into the longest pre-launch quarantine endured by any spaceflight crew.
The most serious concern emerged when a crack and oxygen leak were detected in the oxidiser line of the Falcon-9 rocket's first stage. The issue was grave enough for ISRO to formally raise objections on grounds of "safety and mission integrity", even indicating that it was prepared to withdraw Shukla from the mission.
Matters grew more tense in the final moments before launch.
Just seconds before liftoff from Launch Complex 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, a software glitch between ground systems and the Crew Dragon capsule prevented updated wind data from being transmitted. The countdown stalled as tensions ran high.
What followed was a critical intervention by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
How ISRO Stepped In
A 13-member ISRO expert team, stationed at Kennedy Space Center and led by Dr V. Narayanan, Chairman of ISRO, played a decisive and lifesaving role. Dr Narayanan, a globally respected authority on cryogenic engines and liquid oxygen systems, personally insisted that the oxygen leak issue be addressed to India's satisfaction.
According to Dr Narayanan, the corrective action was essential in preventing a potentially catastrophic failure. He later said the intervention effectively saved the lives of all four astronauts. Intense closed-door meetings followed, at times marked by heated technical exchanges between engineers from ISRO, SpaceX and Axiom Space. Significantly, the astronauts themselves were mostly kept out of these discussions while engineers resolved the crisis.
Only after exhaustive scrutiny did the mission receive the final go-ahead. The Falcon-9 lifted off cleanly, and Shukla went on to complete his mission to the ISS safely, though few watching from the outside knew just how narrow the margins had been.
The Kirti Chakra for the Backup Who Stood Ready
While Shukla flew, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair stood by as the backup Gaganyatri, fully prepared to step in if required. Born in Thiruvazhiyad, Kerala, on August 26, 1976, Nair is an NDA alumnus and the Sword of Honour recipient at the Air Force Academy.
Commissioned into the IAF's fighter stream in 1998, Nair is a Category-A flying instructor, the highest instructional rating possible, and a test pilot with over 3,000 flying hours.
He has flown the same formidable fleet as Shukla and has commanded the IAF's premier Su-30 squadron. An alumnus of the US Staff College, Nair has served as directing staff at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the Flying Instructors School, Tambaram.
A practitioner of yoga with deep knowledge of Indian scriptures, Nair embodied quiet readiness throughout the mission.
A New Chapter, A Familiar Pattern
With the Ashoka Chakra for Shubhanshu Shukla and the Kirti Chakra for Prasanth B Nair, India has reaffirmed the tradition established by Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra four decades ago. Once again, the nation acknowledges that spaceflight demands not just technological prowess, but courage, discipline and unwavering professionalism.
From Soyuz in 1984 to the ISS in 2025, India's astronauts continue to reflect the very highest standards of service-on Earth and beyond.
