Gaganyaan mission symbol of new chapter in journey of Atmanirbhar Bharat: Rajnath        

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said Gaganyaan mission symbolises a "new chapter" in the journey of Atmanirbhar Bharat and called astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and the other three chosen Gaganyatris as "gems".

At an event hosted by the IAF at Subroto Park here, Singh felicitated the four Gaganyatris.

The ceremony comes after the successful Axiom 4 mission, of which Shukla was a part.

Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are the four chosen Gaganyatris.

Their names were revealed for the first time in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram in February 2024.

The Gaganyaan project, formally announced by Modi in 2018, aims to send a three-member crewed flight into the 400 km-orbit for a three-day mission in 2027.