Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and his fellow crew members on the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) returned to Earth on Tuesday afternoon (July 15), as their SpaceX Dragon splashed down at 3:02 p.m. IST.
They returned from an 18-day sojourn on the International Space Station that was a primary step for India’s personal ambitions for indigenous human spaceflight, with Mr. Shukla — a Group Captain within the Indian Air Force — chosen as one of many Indian astronauts on the Gaganyaan Mission.
The Dragon’s splashdown occurred off the coast of San Diego within the United States, 22-and-a-half hours after it departed from the ISS on July 14. Fifty minutes later, the astronauts made their method out of the Dragon, helped by the medical crew aboard the Space X restoration vessel, the Shannon.
Rehab programme
The first to come out of the Dragon was Ax-4 mission Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, adopted by Group Captain Shukla, who was the pilot for the mission, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
Smiling and waving on the cameras, the astronauts have been assisted by the staff aboard the rescue ship as they went for routine medical checks after spending virtually 20 days in microgravity situations. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, Group Captain Shukla will endure a rehabilitation programme for a couple of week below the supervision of flight surgeons to assist him adapt again to Earth’s gravity.
Watch | Shubhanshu Shukla-piloted SpaceX Dragon returns to Earth after Axiom-4 Mission
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The Hindu
320 orbits of Earth
The 4 astronauts flew to the area station on the Dragon after it was launched by the Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25. During the 20-day mission, the crew accomplished 320 orbits across the Earth, overlaying 8.4 million miles of spaceflight, Axiom Space stated. They additionally accomplished over 60 analysis actions and 23 outreach occasions. The Ax-4 crew members departed from the orbiting laboratory on July 14.
Early on Tuesday, SpaceX introduced that the Dragon was on monitor to re-enter the Earth’s ambiance and splash down off the coast of San Diego as per schedule. At round 2:09 p.m., the deorbit burn section of the splashdown commenced, lasting for about 18 minutes.
Following the completion of the deorbit burn, the truck was jettisoned, and the Dragon’s nostril cone was closed and secured for entry into the Earth’s ambiance. A couple of minutes later, the Dragon’s two drogue parachutes deployed above the Pacific Ocean, adopted by deployment of the 4 most important parachutes, and the Dragon had a textbook splashdown into the ocean.
A view of the SpaceX Dragon spaceship after it splashed down off the coast off San Diego on July 15, 2025. Photo: YouTube/ Axiom Space
Safe splashdown
“Thanks for the great ride and safe trip and happy to be back,” Ms. Whitson stated in her first message put up splashdown.
Soon, a few quick boats with restoration personnel approached the Dragon to be sure that the spacecraft was secure.
The restoration personnel then accomplished sniff checks to guarantee there have been no hazardous chemical compounds across the car and after they picked up the primary parachutes, the primary restoration vessel Shannon approached the Dragon.
The Dragon was then lifted to the restoration vessel and positioned on the restoration nest earlier than being moved to the hangar aboard the ship for the opening of the spacecraft hatch. After the hatch was opened, the astronauts exited the Dragon one after the other, finishing their mission.
Axiom Space stated that they’ll endure their first medical checks onboard the restoration vessel, earlier than flying on a helicopter again to land. From there, the crew will probably be flown to Houston the place they are going to be reunited with their respective groups.
