San Diego/Bengaluru: Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members of the Axiom-4 commercial mission safely returned to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California on Tuesday.
The return marked the successful completion of India’s second human spaceflight and Shukla's pioneering role as the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dragon (Grace) capsule, developed by SpaceX, began its de-orbit burn approximately at 2:07 PM IST over the Pacific Ocean. The critical manoeuvre, lasting just under 18 minutes, allowed the spacecraft to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. During this time, communication with the capsule was temporarily lost for seven minutes due to the high heat and plasma formation around the vehicle.
At approximately 2:26 PM IST, the capsule’s trunk was detached, and the heat shield was oriented to face the re-entry path. The spacecraft endured temperatures nearing 1,600 degrees Celsius as it blazed through the atmosphere.
Parachutes were deployed in two stages to ensure a safe descent — stabilising parachutes were released at 5.7 km altitude approximately at 2:57 PM IST, followed by the main chutes around 2 km above the ocean surface, leading to a gentle splashdown just four minutes later.
Earlier, Shukla and his fellow astronauts had undocked from the ISS to begin their 22.5-hour return journey after completing a highly productive 18-day stay aboard the orbiting lab.
During the mission, Shukla completed over 310 orbits around the Earth, covering more than 1.3 crore kilometres, a distance equivalent to 33 times the Earth-Moon journey. The crew also witnessed over 300 sunrises and sunsets, a surreal reminder of the orbital velocity of the ISS and the wonders of life in low-Earth orbit.
The Axiom-4 mission, operated by US-based Axiom Space in partnership with NASA and SpaceX, is a significant milestone in commercial spaceflight. It also highlights India’s growing footprint in global human space exploration as it prepares for its own Gaganyaan mission.
As celebrations begin back home, Shukla’s safe return has been hailed as a moment of national pride, marking yet another historic chapter in India’s space odyssey.
