Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the names of the four astronaut-designates who are undergoing training for the country's maiden human space mission, Gaganyaan.
Here are the details of the four ‘Shakti’ as named by PM Modi:
Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair
Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair was born in Thiruvazhiyad, Kerala on 26 Aug 1976.
He is alumnus of NDA and recipient of Sword of Honour at Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 19 Dec 1998 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Cat A Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx 3000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc. He is also the alumnus of United States Staff College and a DS at DSSC, Wellington and FIS, Tambaram. He has commanded a premier fighter Su-30 Sqn.
Group Captain Ajit Krishnan
Group Captain Ajit Krishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 19 Apr 1982.
He is alumnus of NDA and recipient of President’s Gold Medal and Sword of Honour at Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 21 Jun 2003 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx 2900 hrs of flying experience. He has flown variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-21, Mig-29, Jaguar, Dornier, An-32 etc. He is also alumnus of DSSC, Wellington.
Group Captain Angad Pratap
Group Captain Angad Pratap was born in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh on 17 Jul 1982.
He is alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on 18 Dec 2004 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx 2000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32 etc.
Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla
Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 10 Oct 1985.
He is alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on 17 Jun 2006 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Fighter Combat Leader and a Test Pilot with approx 2000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32 etc.
