Ax-4 Mission: Shubhanshu Shukla and Crew Set for 3 PM Splashdown
The Ax-4 crew, including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is scheduled to splash down off the coast of San Diego, California, at approximately 3 PM IST on Tuesday. Their 22.5-hour journey aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft “Grace” will conclude the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Axiom Mission 4.
The crew comprises Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA project astronaut Slawosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Hungarian HUNOR astronaut Tibor Kapu. Over the past 18 days aboard the ISS, they conducted over 60 scientific experiments and participated in more than 20 outreach events aimed at education and space research awareness.
On Monday, the spacecraft undocked from the Harmony module of the ISS at 4:45 PM IST (7:15 AM EDT), officially marking the return phase of the mission. NASA and Axiom Space confirmed that Dragon is now maneuvering on a safe orbital path back to Earth. SpaceX, in a post on X, stated that the spacecraft will enter Earth’s atmosphere with a brief sonic boom before splashdown.
This historic mission marked Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS, a major milestone in India’s space journey. His participation underlines the growing collaboration between ISRO and international space agencies.
Launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on June 25 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, the Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS a day later on June 26 at 4:05 PM IST. During the mission, the astronauts engaged in research across life sciences, technology demonstrations, and Earth observation experiments.
According to NASA, Dragon will also return with over 580 pounds of cargo, including scientific data and hardware vital for further research.
As anticipation builds for the successful conclusion of this international mission, India celebrates the return of one of its own from the frontiers of space.
