The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla–India’s first astronaut to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS)–is scheduled to return to Earth today, marking a major milestone in the country’s space journey. The splashdown is expected at 3:01 PM IST off the coast of San Diego.
In an official update, SpaceX announced on X (formerly Twitter):“Dragon and the @Axiom_Space Ax-4 crew are on track to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of San Diego at ~2:31 a.m. PT tomorrow. Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.”
Shukla’s mission represents a historic breakthrough for India’s space ambitions. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which invested approximately ₹500 crore to secure his seat and training, views this achievement as a crucial stepping stone toward attaining future goals: launching the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission by 2027, establishing a national space station by 2035, and eventually sending an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040.
As part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, Shukla flew alongside NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The mission was a collaborative venture involving NASA, ISRO, the European Space Agency (ESA), Axiom Space, and SpaceX.
As the world awaits the Dragon capsule’s descent into the Pacific, Shukla’s safe return will not only conclude a historic mission but also signal the start of a new chapter in India’s space story.