Who is the first Indian to go into space?
Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go into space in 1984 and remains the only Indian citizen to do so. The retired Air Force Pilot flew aboard Soyuz T-11 spacecraft under a joint Indian-Soviet programme and spent nearly eight days orbiting Earth. Notably, India-born late Kalpana Chawla and Indian-origin Sunita Williams flew into space as American astronauts.