Overview
- Penguin Random House India will publish The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man… Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts on June 25, 2026, marking Shukla’s debut as an author.
- Shukla, who flew on NASA‑contracted Axiom‑4 last June, spent 18 days aboard the International Space Station and became the first Indian to visit and dock with the ISS since 1984.
- The memoir promises a behind‑the‑scenes account of years of selection and training, the operational life on the ISS, and the setbacks, discipline and uncertainty behind human spaceflight.
- Shukla remains one of four astronaut‑designates for ISRO’s Gaganyaan program, which is tentatively scheduled for mid‑2027 and aims to send a three‑member crew to low‑Earth orbit for a short demonstration flight.
- A Group Captain and test pilot with more than 2,000 flying hours, Shukla and his publisher position the book as a story about self‑belief aimed at young readers, a framing that could help sustain public interest in India’s human space ambitions.