Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to ever visit the International Space Station, is now heading back to Earth after making history. The four-member crew of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission undocked from the ISS on Monday, with the return journey expected to end in a splashdown in under 24 hours.
Led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and piloted by Group Captain Shukla, the Ax-4 mission arrived at the ISS on 26 June. The other crew members were Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
Shukla is only the second Indian to travel to space, following Rakesh Sharma who flew aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 1984. Ax-4 is a private commercial spaceflight operated by Houston-based Axiom Space in collaboration with NASA, ISRO, ESA and SpaceX.
The ISS confirmed on X that the Ax-4 crew had boarded the spacecraft and the hatches were closed before undocking. Axiom Space stated that the splashdown is expected off the coast of California, where a recovery vessel will pick up the crew.
India’s Science Minister Jitendra Singh said the splashdown is scheduled for 15 July at around 3:00 PM IST (09:30 GMT)
In his farewell message from the ISS, Group Captain Shukla said, “It has been an incredible journey. Even though now it is coming to an end, for you and me there is a long way to go. The journey of our human space mission is very long and difficult. But if we are determined, even the stars are attainable.”
Quoting Rakesh Sharma’s iconic words, Shukla added, “From space, today’s India looks ambitious. It looks fearless. It looks confident. It looks proud. And so, I can once again say that today’s India still looks better than the rest of the world.”
The Ax-4 mission, initially planned for two weeks, extended its stay and completed 60 scientific experiments, including seven by ISRO. The Indian space agency paid Rs 5 billion for Shukla’s training and mission seat, aiming to boost its future human spaceflight plans.
Shukla is one of four IAF officers shortlisted for Gaganyaan, India’s first manned space mission set for 2027. Born in Lucknow on 10 October 1985, he joined the air force in 2006 and has logged over 2,000 flying hours.
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