Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, along with the rest of the Axiom-4 crew, boarded the SpaceX Dragon Grace spacecraft on Monday to begin their return journey to Earth following an 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Shukla, who served as the mission pilot, was joined by mission commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The crew suited up and entered the capsule, closing the hatch at 2:37 PM IST. Final checks were underway ahead of undocking, scheduled for 4:35 PM IST.
NASA streamed the departure procedures live, with the spacecraft set for a fully autonomous descent. After detaching from the ISS, Dragon will execute a sequence of engine burns to distance itself from the station before atmospheric re-entry. The capsule’s trunk will be jettisoned, and the heat shield positioned to withstand temperatures reaching 1,600°C.
As the spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, parachutes will deploy in two stages—stabilizers at about 5.7 km altitude, followed by main chutes at around 2 km—to ensure a safe ocean landing.
Splashdown is expected off the coast of California at approximately 3:01 PM IST on Tuesday. A recovery vessel will retrieve the capsule shortly after.
The Axiom-4 mission was launched on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from Florida, marking a major milestone in commercial spaceflight and international collaboration, with Shukla’s participation representing a proud moment for India’s growing space ambitions.
