Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India’s first astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS), will begin his journey back to Earth today after completing an 18-day mission under the Axiom-4 (AX-4) private spaceflight.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Shukla and his crew members is scheduled to undock from the ISS at 4:30 PM IST on Monday.
Officials expect the spacecraft to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near the California coast around 3:00 PM the following day.
About the mission
Shukla, an officer of the Indian Air Force, lifted off for the ISS along with three others, including veteran American astronaut and mission commander Peggy Winston, ESA astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu.
Axiom Space is operating its fourth private mission in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
During this mission in the ISS, Shukla conducted a series of scientific experiments and outreach activities designed to inspire the engineers and Indian scientists of the next generation.
The crew will return with more than 580 pounds of cargo, comprising valuable research samples and equipment from over 60 scientific experiments carried out in space.
In a heartfelt farewell message from space, Shukla described his time aboard the ISS as ‘an incredible journey’.
Group Captain also thanked ISRO, Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX for their support. He also acknowledged the efforts of Indian students and researchers who contributed to the mission’s scientific goals.
While Shukla gazed down at Earth from space, he felt a deep sense of connection to his homeland, stating, “Today’s India looks ambitious from space, today’s India looks brave, today’s India looks confident, today’s India looks full of pride. And because of all these, I can say once again that today’s India still looks better than the whole world.”
This mission marks a historic milestone for India as it strives to strengthen its position on the global space stage.
Launch & docking
The Axiom-4 mission launched on June 25 and docked to the ISS at 16:15 hrs IST on June 26.
SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 carrying Shukla and three other crew members from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Shubhanshu Shukla’s successful mission marks a historic milestone as India continues to assert its presence on the global space stage.
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