Shubhanshu Shukla, crew to descent today: When and how Axiom 4 will return to Earth?

ISS Undocking Today, Splashdown Tomorrow for Axiom-4 Crew (Image: @JonnyKimUSA/X)

After a year-long intensive training programme and 18 eventful days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), India’s first-ever crewed mission to the ISS is in its final stages.

The four-member crew, including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, departed the ISS on Monday aboard SpaceX’s Dragon ‘Grace’, marking a key milestone for India’s space ambitions.

Funded by an estimated ₹550 crore investment from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the mission is part of a historic joint venture with Axiom Space and NASA, laying the groundwork for India’s planned human spaceflight mission in 2027.

The Dragon capsule autonomously undocked from the ISS at 4:45 pm IST and began a series of departure maneuvers to distance itself from the orbiting laboratory safely, reported News18. Once in a stable orbit, the crew changed out of their pressure suits and took time to rest as the spacecraft continued to circle Earth, waiting for optimal re-entry conditions.

Ground teams from SpaceX and Axiom Space have been closely monitoring the spacecraft’s path and said that it is on track to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, with their arrival to be announced with a "brief sonic boom" ahead of the splashdown.

The team is also keeping a close eye ton the weather near the California coast, where the capsule is scheduled to splash down. The return journey is expected to last approximately 22.5 hours.

Final descent and fiery re-entry

On Tuesday afternoon, the crew will once again don their pressure suits ahead of a critical final hour. Around 2:07 pm IST, Dragon Grace is expected to initiate its de-orbit burn to lower its altitude and begin its re-entry sequence. By 2:26 pm IST, it will jettison its trunk—the service module housing solar arrays and other now-unnecessary systems—followed by closure of its nose cone, shielding crucial sensors ahead of atmospheric entry.

The crew will experience a fiery atmospheric re-entry, with the spacecraft enduring temperatures of nearly 1,600°C before parachute deployment ensures a safe descent into the Pacific Ocean.

At around 2:57 pm IST, the spacecraft will deploy its drogue parachutes at an altitude of 5-6 km, followed by main parachutes closer to 2 km above sea level, dramatically slowing its descent.

Splashdown and Recovery

Space X's Dragon Grace is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast precisely at 3:01 pm IST. Recovery teams stationed nearby will retrieve the capsule and assist the astronauts as they exit, before flying them to Houston for medical evaluations.

Returning from microgravity, astronauts often experience dizziness and disorientation. The crew is expected to remain under observation and in quarantine for about 10 days to allow their bodies to readjust to Earth’s gravity.

A Historic Chapter for India and ISRO

The mission represents a major milestone for ISRO and India’s growing presence in global space exploration. It was also ISRO’s first collaboration with a private spaceflight provider, as well as Axiom Space’s fourth private mission to the ISS.

Besides Shukla, who served as the mission’s pilot, the crew included mission commander and veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, along with two first-time ESA mission specialists—Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 25, the mission carried nearly 60 scientific experiments from multiple countries, including seven contributed by ISRO.