Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC (born 13 January 1949) is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although there have been other astronauts with an Indian background who were not Indian citizens.[1][2] Born on 13 January 1949 in Patiala of present-day Punjab, India, Sharma attended St. George's Grammar School, Hyderabad and graduated from Nizam College, Hyderabad. He was admitted to the National Defense Academy as an air force plebe in July 1966 and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a pilot in 1970,  thereafter becoming the first man from India to go into space. An alumnus of the 35th National Defense Academy, Sharma joined the Indian Air Force as a test pilot in 1970 and progressed through numerous levels where in 1984 he was promoted to the rank of squadron leader.[3] He was selected on 20 September 1982 to become a cosmonaut and go into space as part of a joint programme between the Indian Air Force and the Soviet Interkosmos space programme.