• Group Captain Angad Pratap was born in Prayagraj on July 17, 1982. He is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on December 18, 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 a variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32 etc.

• Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on October 10, 1985. He is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on June 17, 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 a variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32 etc.

ISRO in collaboration with the Indian Air Force selected the crew of the talented test pilots. The selected pilots then underwent several clinical and psychological tests. Finally, the National Crew Selection Board recommended the names of four test pilots from the Air Force for India’s Ganganyaan Mission.

The pilots were then trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia for about 13 months.