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Indian astronaut-designates Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been shortlisted to go to the U.S. to train for the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS)
Axiom-4 mission
The Axiom-4 mission is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station
The India-U.S. joint statement during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. in June 2023 envisioned a joint ISRO-NASA effort to the ISS
The Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of the ISRO has entered into a Space Flight Agreement with the NASA-identified service provider Axiom Space Inc., U.S., for its upcoming Axiom-4 mission to the ISS
Aiming to launch in August 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission aims to dock with the ISS for a fourteen-day duration.
Indian astronauts will receive training from NASA, international partners, and SpaceX, focusing on spacecraft systems and emergency preparedness, as part of India-US space cooperation goals
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