Dragon Undocks: Shubhanshu Shukla and Ax-4 Crew Begin Return from ISS

Cape Canaveral/New Delhi: The Dragon spacecraft carrying Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three fellow astronauts of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, marking the beginning of their return voyage to Earth after a landmark two-week mission.

The undocking occurred autonomously at 7:15 a.m. ET (4:45 p.m. IST) as the Dragon spacecraft performed a series of departure burns to safely distance itself from the ISS. According to SpaceX, the capsule will execute multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and splashing down off the coast of California at approximately 2:31 a.m. PT (3:01 p.m. IST) on Tuesday, July 15.

Ax-4 Mission | Undocking https://t.co/9GBaHvpaAa

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) July 14, 2025

Shukla, a decorated officer of the Indian Air Force, etched his name in history as the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS, and only the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma’s iconic 1984 mission aboard a Soviet spacecraft. His journey is being hailed as a significant precursor to India’s Gaganyaan mission and the broader vision to land an Indian on the Moon by 2040.

The Ax-4 mission, dubbed “Mission Akash Ganga,” was launched on June 25 at 2:31 a.m. ET (12:01 p.m. IST) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon capsule docking at the ISS soon after. Alongside Shukla, the crew includes:

• Peggy Whitson, legendary former NASA astronaut and current Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight;

• Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, ESA project astronaut from Poland;

• Tibor Kapu, representing Hungary’s HUNOR program.

The astronauts spent over two weeks aboard the ISS, participating in more than 60 scientific experiments, technology demonstrations, and outreach activities. NASA confirmed that the returning Dragon capsule is carrying over 580 pounds (263 kg) of cargo, including crucial hardware and experiment data.

Axiom Space released video footage of the undocking, showcasing the capsule gracefully detaching from the station. The reentry and splashdown will be live-streamed by SpaceX approximately one hour before landing, via the @SpaceX handle on X and the X TV app.

With India investing nearly ₹33,000 crore in this mission, Akash Ganga represents a major leap in the country’s space ambitions, setting the stage for future crewed spaceflights under the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Gaganyaan program.

As Shukla and his crewmates embark on the final leg of their cosmic voyage, India awaits the safe return of its newest space hero—one whose journey is not just a personal milestone, but a national moment of pride.