Dragon Undocks From ISS, Shubhanshu Shukla's 22-Hour Return To Earth Begins

India's Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts of the Axiom-4 have begun their journey back to Earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station. The Dragon Grace spacecraft undocked from the orbital laboratory for the 22-hour journey to Earth.

The splashdown is expected to take place off the coast of California at 3 pm IST on Tuesday.

Earlier, Commander Peggy Whitson, Shubhanshu 'Shux' Shukla - the mission pilot - and Mission Specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu were seen entering the spacecraft all suited up for their journey back home. The hatch of the Dragon Grace spacecraft that connected it to the International Space Station (ISS) was closed at 2:37 pm, followed by final checks by the crew members (Shubhanshu Shukla's Return From Space Updates here).

The mission's space odyssey began on June 25 when the Falcon-9 rocket carrying the Dragon space capsule blasted off from Florida towards the ISS. The mission marked the return to space for India, Poland and Hungary after more than four decades.

Mr Shukla is the second Indian astronaut in space, after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who spent a little over 7 days in space aboard the Soviet space station Salyut-7 in 1984. 

Yesterday, NASA's Expedition Crew organised a traditional farewell ceremony for the Axiom-4 crew. Speaking at the farewell ceremony, Mr Shukla said, "One thing that sticks with me is what humanity is capable of when all of us come together from different parts of the world and work for a common goal or a common objective. It is truly incredible."

This mission, dubbed Akash Ganga, is a collaborative effort between Axiom Space Inc., NASA, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and represents a significant step forward in India's human spaceflight ambitions, including the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and the proposed Bhartiya Antariksha Station.

During his stay aboard the ISS, Mr Shukla conducted seven India-specific microgravity experiments, showcasing India's growing capabilities in space science and technology. These experiments are designed to generate critical data for future planetary missions and long-duration space habitation.