Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India's Gaganyatri, has safely returned to Earth. The SpaceX crew capsule 'Grace', carrying Group Captain Shukla and his fellow astronauts, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, shortly after 3 pm IST. Around 50 minutes after landing, he was assisted out of the spacecraft. According to Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Group Captain Shukla is expected to return to Delhi on August 17.
An accomplished Indian Air Force pilot, Group Captain Shukla is only the second Indian to travel to space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984. He holds the distinction of being the first Indian to visit the USD 150-billion International Space Station, a milestone that marks a major step in India’s space journey.
As he returns from this landmark mission, the nation welcomes Group Captain Shukla with pride. His courage, dedication and achievement have not only carved a place for India in the international space community but have also ignited the imagination of a billion people.
Pictures from the docking station gave us the first glimpse of the Indian astronaut as he stepped out of the Dragon capsule with assistance from the SpaceX crew. Dressed in a white space suit, Shukla was all smiles and waved to the camera as he stepped onto the recovery vehicle after his return from space on the completion of the 18-day mission.
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About Axiom-4 space mission
Axiom Space, the private space company that facilitated the mission for NASA and ISRO at a cost of nearly $70 million to India, earlier announced that "after approximately 433 hours, 18 days, and 288 orbits around Earth, covering nearly 12.2 million kilometres since docking with the International Space Station, the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew is officially homeward bound."
The return journey aboard the crew capsule took about 22.5 hours. Alongside Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the crew included American astronaut Commander Peggy Whitson and Mission Specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
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