Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla etched his name into history books on Wednesday as he became only the second Indian to travel to space — and the first ever to embark on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). However, as the nation celebrates this monumental achievement, one question lingers: will Shukla be paid for his time in orbit?
The answer is no. Shukla, who is part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), will not receive a salary for his 14-day journey aboard the ISS. That’s because Ax-4 is a privately operated mission organised by U.S.-based Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX. India’s participation is entirely funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian government.
The government has allocated Rs 548 crore (approximately $65 million) for India’s involvement in the mission. This amount covers astronaut training in the U.S., mission logistics, launch costs, and support for scientific research conducted during the mission.
Despite the absence of a direct salary, Shukla stands to gain significantly in terms of prestige, technical know-how, and real-world spaceflight experience. His mission is widely viewed as a precursor to India’s Gaganyaan programme — the country’s first planned manned space mission, scheduled for 2027.
While aboard the ISS, Shukla will lead experiments related to space nutrition, food sustainability, and seed regeneration under zero-gravity conditions. These studies aim to advance agricultural and nutritional science both in space and on Earth.
The Ax-4 mission lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Docking at the ISS is expected around 4:30 pm IST on Thursday, June 26.
