By Khabar Rojana 
Shukla is set to return to Earth after an extended 18-day mission, which was part of Axiom Space’s Ax-4 program. He will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast today at around 3 PM IST, along with three other astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
Shubhanshu Shukla, a Group Captain and the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS), is set to return to Earth today. This marks the successful completion of Axiom Space’s Axe-4 mission.
Splashdown scheduled off the California coast today
Shukla, along with three fellow astronauts Peggy Whitson (USA), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off California at 3:01 PM IST (4:31 AM CT) today. The crew boarded SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft “Grace” at 2 PM IST on Monday (July 14), undocking from the ISS’s Harmony module at 4:45 PM IST.
SpaceX confirms safe departure from ISS
The spacecraft’s hatch was sealed at 5:07 AM EDT, and SpaceX confirmed “Dragon separation” via its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
“Dragon is GO to undock from the Space Station,” posted SpaceX.
“Dragon separation confirmed!”
The return journey is expected to last nearly 23 hours, after which recovery teams will retrieve the crew. Shukla will begin a 7-day rehabilitation to readjust to Earth’s gravity following 18 days in microgravity.
A mission extended for science
The mission, which was originally planned for 14 days, where Shukla’s was extended to 18 days, which gave him more time for scientific experiments and collaborative research aboard the ISS.
Second Indian astronaut in space
This makes Shukla the second Indian astronaut in space, following Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
An emotional farewell from orbit
Before departure, Shukla shared a heartfelt message from the station’s cupola:
“India still looks better than the whole world,” he said while gazing down at Earth.
He also thanked ISRO, NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX for making the mission possible, calling the experience “an incredible journey.”
A proud moment for India
The successful return of Shubhanshu Shukla has not only honoured India’s long-standing space aspirations but also solidified the country’s role in international space exploration.
The mission under Axe-4 marks a historic milestone as India prepares for future manned spaceflight missions.
Raveena Kumari