Shukla’s return to Earth begins smoothly, splashdown expected on July 15

Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey back home from the International Space Station (ISS), where he spent nearly 20 days, began smoothly on Monday. The Dragon spacecraft, carrying Shukla and three other Axiom-4 crew members, undocked from the ISS more than two hours after the hatch was closed.

Following undocking, SpaceX’s Grace, its latest Crew Dragon capsule, will embark on a nearly 23-hour journey back to Earth, with splashdown expected off the California coast.

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“Dragon is slowly maneuvering away from the station into an orbital track that will return the crew and its cargo safely to Earth, targeting a splashdown off the coast of California on Tuesday, July 15,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in a statement.

The American space agency informed that the spacecraft is returning with more than 580 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 60 experiments conducted during the mission.

After the successful undocking, Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh welcomed Shubhanshu Shukla with a post on X, saying the entire nation is looking forward to his safe return.

“Welcome back, Shubhanshu. The entire nation eagerly awaits your arrival back home… as you begin your return journey after the successful undocking of #Axiom4,” Singh wrote.

Ahead of departure, during a farewell ceremony on Sunday, Shukla echoed the iconic words of cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space in 1984, saying that India still looks “saare jahan se achha” (best in the world) from space.

As part of the Axiom-4 mission– fourth private human spaceflight operated by U.S.-based Axiom Space – Indian Air Force Group Captain Shukla arrived at the ISS on June 26, becoming the first Indian to set foot on the orbiting laboratory.

In a press statement on Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that after splashdown, Gaganyatri Shubanshu Shukla will undergo a week-long rehabilitation program under the supervision of flight surgeons to help him readjust to Earth’s gravity.

Insights gained by Shukla during the mission will contribute to India’s future space endeavours, including the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), planned for the early 2030s, and Chandrayaan-4, the country’s first human mission to the Moon, targeted for 2047.

Shubhanshu Shukla shared his optimism about India’s future space missions during his parting message at the farewell ceremony aboard the space station.“As my mission aboard the space station nears its end, our journey—mine and India’s—is far from over. The path to India’s human spaceflight is long and challenging, but I assure you: if we set our minds to it, even the stars are attainable,” Shukla said.