After an intensive year of training and an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), India’s first-ever crewed mission to the ISS has begun its final chapter. The mission, supported by a Rs 550 crore investment from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), marks a major milestone in India's expanding space exploration capabilities.
Dragon Grace Begins Return Journey
On Monday at 4:45 PM IST, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Grace, carrying the Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) crew—including India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla—undocked from the ISS. The spacecraft executed a series of controlled engine burns to safely distance itself from the space station before settling into a return orbit.
Once in a secure trajectory, the astronauts removed their pressure suits and rested while the capsule circled Earth through the night, awaiting the ideal moment for re-entry. Ground teams from SpaceX and Axiom Space closely monitored both the flight path and weather conditions off the coast of California, the designated splashdown site.
Fiery Descent and Earth Re-Entry
The most critical phase of the journey is expected to begin around 2:07 PM IST on Tuesday when Dragon Grace will initiate its de-orbit burn. This maneuver lowers the spacecraft’s altitude and sets it on a descent path toward Earth. At approximately 2:26 PM, the spacecraft will jettison its trunk—used to house solar panels and unneeded equipment—followed by the closure of its nose cone to protect critical sensors during re-entry.
With temperatures during re-entry soaring above 1,600°C and speeds exceeding 6 kilometers per second, Grace will rely on its robust heat shield to protect the capsule and its contents, which includes approximately 263 kilograms of scientific hardware and NASA cargo.
Parachutes will deploy at high altitude to slow the descent—drag parachutes at around 5 to 6 km from the surface, followed by main parachutes at 2 km—ensuring a safe splashdown.
Splashdown and Recovery
If all proceeds according to schedule, the capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast at around 3:01 PM IST. Recovery vessels are already on standby to retrieve the astronauts and their cargo. After extraction from the capsule, the crew will be flown to Houston for medical examinations.
Returning from microgravity can lead to dizziness and disorientation, so the crew members—including Shukla—will undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine and rehabilitation period to readjust to Earth’s gravity.
A Pioneering Mission for India
This mission not only represents India’s first human presence aboard the ISS, but also its inaugural joint venture with private spaceflight company Axiom Space. The collaboration was notable as ISRO’s debut in a commercial astronaut mission, paving the way for India’s Gaganyaan crewed space mission, planned for 2027.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla served as the pilot on this mission, alongside mission commander and veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. The international crew also included European Space Agency astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary—both on their first missions to space.
Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 25, the mission carried out nearly 60 scientific experiments, seven of which were developed by ISRO.
With this successful collaboration and mission execution, India’s ambitions in human spaceflight are closer than ever to becoming a reality.
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