After successfully completing an 18-day mission under the Axiom-4 (AX-4) private spaceflight, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India’s first astronaut aboard the ISS, is scheduled to return to Earth.
At 4:30 PM IST (Indian Standard Time) on Monday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Shukla and three other foreign crew members will disembark from the ISS. It is anticipated that the spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean close to the California coast at approximately 3:00 PM IST on Tuesday, July 15.
Indian Air Force officer Shukla traveled to the ISS with Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu, ESA astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, and veteran American astronaut and mission commander Peggy Whitson. Axiom Space, in partnership with NASA and SpaceX, embarked on their fourth private mission onboard the Dragon spacecraft.
Shukla carried out a variety of outreach initiatives and scientific research while on the ISS with the goal of motivating the upcoming generation of Indian engineers and scientists. More than 580 pounds of cargo, including significant research samples and equipment from more than 60 scientific experiments conducted in microgravity, were returned during the mission.
Shukla thanked ISRO, Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX for their support and called his time on the ISS “an incredible journey” in an emotional farewell message from space.
Additionally, he honored Indian researchers and students who helped advance the mission’s scientific objectives.
Shukla said, “Today’s India looks ambitious from space, today’s India looks brave, today’s India looks confident, today’s India looks full of pride,” as he looked down at Earth from orbit and thought deeply about his native country. And for all of these reasons, I can reiterate that India still appears better than the rest of the globe today.
An important turning point has been reached with Shubhanshu Shukla’s successful mission as India continues to make its mark on the international space scene.
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