Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Set To Splash Down Today As Axiom-4 Returns To Earth

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three other Axiom-4 crew members are set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off California on Tuesday (15 July) around 3:01 PM IST, reported Hindustan Times.

SpaceX confirmed the Dragon capsule is on track to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, with live coverage starting at 2 pm IST on the Axiom Space website.

The Dragon spacecraft undocked from the space-facing port of the ISS’s Harmony module on Monday (14 July) at 4:45 PM IST.

The capsule performed departure burns to move away from the station, with astronauts seen donning their white and black flight suits and strapping in before separation.

SpaceX stated, “Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.”

The Axiom-4 crew includes commander Peggy Whitson, mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu, and Indian Air Force group captain Shubhanshu Shukla.

During the mission, they carried out more than 60 scientific investigations and over 20 outreach programmes.

According to ISRO, Shukla successfully completed all seven microgravity experiments and other planned operations, marking a critical milestone in the mission.

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union minister of science and technology, posted on X about the spacecraft’s planned arrival, saying “these timings have a margin window of approximately 1 hour”.

As the capsule began its return, Shukla’s father told ANI, “We are very happy that the undocking took place safely. We expect that the landing will also take place smoothly tomorrow. We have faith in the Almighty.”

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