Meet Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla: First Indian To Be Sent To ISS By ISRO, Alumnus of World's Largest School in Lucknow; Do You Know He Is Gaganyatri Too?
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Shubhanshu Shukla made history as the first ISRO astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) and only the second Indian to travel to space. Interestingly, he completed his schooling at the world's largest school, which is located right here in India. Born in middle class family
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Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow to a middle-class family. His father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, is a retired government officer, and his mother, Asha Shukla, is a homemaker. He completed his education at City Montessori School in Lucknow, which holds the distinction of being the world's largest private school. India's largest private educational institutions.
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City Montessori School (CMS) was founded in 1959 by renowned educationist Jagdish Gandhi and his wife, Dr. Bharti Gandhi. It began in a small room of their modest home in Lucknow with just five students and an initial investment of ₹300. Over time, CMS established its first official campus, now called the Station Road Branch, and gradually expanded into one of India's largest private educational institutions. Spread across 20 campuses
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Shubhanshu Shukla's alma mater, City Montessori School in Lucknow, is recognized as the world's largest school. As of August 2023, it had an enrollment of 61,345 students spread across 20 campuses. The school is also supported by a teaching staff of over 1,000 educators. English medium institution
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City Montessori School is a co-educational English medium institution that offers core subjects like Science, Mathematics, English, Hindi, Social Science, and Art from pre-primary to Class 12. The school also emphasizes cultural development by providing training in Indian classical music, dance, and drama as part of its curriculum. Guinness World Records as the world's largest school
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In August 2023, City Montessori School earned a spot in the Guinness World Records as the world's largest school, with a student enrolment of 61,345. Earlier, in 2014, the CMS society was recognized by the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) as an affiliated NGO. The school has also received the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education and the 'Hope of Humanity' Award from the Dalai Lama. Axiom-4 mission
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Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) at 4:43 PM IST on June 26, 2025. His journey was part of the Axiom-4 mission, which lifted off at 12:01 PM on June 25 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A. The Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the ISS the following day.
(Image Credits: Axiom Space, MyGov)
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