Gaganyaan Mission: NDA, IISc Bangalore — check educational qualifications of ISRO astronauts

Along with their astronaut training at ISRO, the four astronaut designates are also pursuing their MTech at IISc

Gaganyaan: Group Captains Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla (Image credit: X/ @narendramodi)

Gaganyaan Mission: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the names of the four astronaut designates who will fly to low-earth orbit as part of the Gaganyaan mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Here are the four astronaut designates and their education qualifications.

Group Captains Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla — all qualified from the National Defence Academy between 1997 and 2005 and were commissioned into the IAF.

Read | Chandrayaan 3: IITs, IISc Bangalore — check educational qualification of ISRO scientists behind the successful moon mission

Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair

Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is from Nemmara village in Palakkad and passed out from the NDA in 1997. Nair is the recipient of the Sword of Honour at AFA. He is also an alumnus of the United States Staff College and a DS at Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and Flying Instructors School (FIS), Tambaram.

It was a very special moment for me to hand over wings to the four Indian astronaut-designates. They reflect the hopes, aspirations and optimism of 140 crore Indians.

India is proud of Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad… pic.twitter.com/i0oseaxd4o

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 27, 2024

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United States Staff College

The United States Staff College was set up in 1881. The college since its inception has been acting as a lead agent for the Army’s leader development program; and advances the art and science of the profession of arms in support of Army operational requirements.

Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington

DSSC Wellington Tamil Nadu was established in 1947 and it is one of the earliest institutions in the world to provide, under one roof, training to officers of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, along with officers of the civil services.

Flying Instructors School (FIS), Tambaram

FIS was set up in April 1, 1948 and is a training institution of the Indian Air Force. The FIS trains operational pilots of the Indian Armed Forces and friendly foreign countries to be flying instructors.

Group Captain Ajit Krishnan

Ajit Krishnan was born in Chennai on April 19, 1982. Krishnan completed his schooling from different Kendriya Vidyalayas, and completed his Class 12 from KV AFS Yelahanka, Bengaluru in 1999. He joined NDA after his Class 12 exams and graduated from the NDA in 2001-02. He received the President’s Gold Medal and Sword of Honour at the AFA. He was commissioned in June 2003. He is also an alumnus of the DSSC in Wellington, Tamil Nadu.

Heartiest Congratulations to #KV alumnus, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan for being selected among four Astronauts designate for India’s #GaganyaanMission. He studied in different #KendriyaVidyalayas and passed out from #KV AFS Yelahanka, Bengaluru in 1999.#BestWishes #ProudKVians pic.twitter.com/qqGEIWeyQg

— Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (@KVS_HQ) March 1, 2024

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Group Captain Angad Pratap

Group Captain Angad Pratap was born in Prayagraj, UP on July 17 in 1982 and is an alumnus of NDA. He graduated from the NDA in 2003.

Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla

Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla is from UP’s Lucknow. After his Class 12, he joined NDA and was commissioned in 2001. The Wing Commander has received training at Moscow’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, focusing on various aspects of space movement.

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Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center is a Russian training facility responsible for training cosmonauts for their space missions. Established in 1960, the centre was owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence (Russia) in cooperation with the Russian Federal Space Agency until April 2009. In April 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a presidential decree transferring the centre from the Defence Ministry to the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Along with their astronaut training at ISRO, they are also pursuing their MTech at IISc, a post on X by IISc Bangalore said.

Congratulations to India's Astronaut Designates!🚀
Along with their astronaut training @ISRO, they are pursuing their MTech at IISc. Our faculty have been instructors for their ground training programme.
We are proud to be associated w/ #Gaganyaan & wish them & @ISRO all success! https://t.co/6Yavlhe9U4

— IISc Bangalore (@iiscbangalore) February 27, 2024

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The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore is the top research institute in the country according to the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF 2023). Also in World University Rankings 2024 by subject, the IISC Bangalore is in the top position in India in four subjects, i.e. Physical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science and Life Sciences.