After an extended 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla undocked from the orbital lab on Monday to begin his journey home.
Shukla made history on June 26 by becoming the first Indian on the ISS and the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission.
Shukla boarded SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ‘Grace’ at 03:30 AM CT (2:00 PM IST). NASA confirmed that the hatch between Dragon and the ISS closed at 5:07 AM EDT, and undocking from the Harmony module occurred at 7:15 AM ET (4:45 PM IST).
Fellow astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) are accompanying him.
The crew is expected to splash down off California’s coast at 4:31 AM CT (3:01 PM IST, Tuesday), after a 22.5-hour journey through Earth’s atmosphere.
Pride, emotion, and prayers in India
In a heartfelt message before departure, Shukla called his experience ‘an incredible journey’. He thanked ISRO, Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX.
“Today’s India looks ambitious, brave, confident, and full of pride,” he said from orbit.
His family, especially his sister Shuchi Mishra, expressed a mix of joy and nervous anticipation.
“It’s a crucial stage—the final one. We’ll relax only after the splashdown,” she said. In his hometown, Varanasi, residents conducted yagya-havan ceremonies, offering prayers for his safe return.
While aboard the ISS, Shukla conducted seven India-specific experiments contributing to the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission and future planetary projects like the Bhartiya Antariksha Station. The experiments included:
- Studying muscle loss in microgravity
- Developing a brain-computer interface
- Growing green gram and fenugreek seeds in space
After landing, Shukla and the crew will undergo a seven-day rehabilitation. Flight Surgeons will supervise the process to help them readjust to Earth’s gravity.
His mission is widely seen as a major leap for India in space science and international collaboration.
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