Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others of the commercial Axiom-4 mission on Monday embarked on a journey back to Earth as their Dragon Grace spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station – their home for the last 18 days.
The Dragon spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 4:45 PM IST, a 10-minute delay from the original plan, and fired thrusters twice to move away from the orbital laboratory.
The Axiom-4 crew, comprising Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, spent approximately 433 hours or 18 days and 288 orbits around Earth, covering nearly 7.6 million miles since docking with the International Space Station on June 26.
After hugs and handshakes, the four astronauts entered the Dragon spacecraft about two hours prior to undocking, donned their spacesuits and closed the hatch connecting the spacecraft to the ISS at 2:37 PM IST.
"Jaldi hi dharti pe mulaqat karte hai (we will meet on Earth soon)," Shukla, who became the second Indian astronaut to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma's 1984 odyssey, said at the farewell ceremony onboard the ISS on Sunday.
After executing the departure burns and exiting the safe zone around the space station, the astronauts doffed their space suits for a comfortable 22.5-hour ride back to Earth. The astronauts will wear the space suits once again before the Dragon Grace spacecraft begins the de-orbit procedures for a splashdown off the California coast at 3:01 PM IST on Tuesday.
The four astronauts are expected to spend seven days in rehabilitation as they adjust back to life on Earth under the influence of gravity, unlike the weightlessness experienced in orbit.
On Sunday, the Expedition's 73 astronauts organised a traditional farewell ceremony for the Axiom-4 crew.
The Axiom-4 mission marked the return to space for India, Poland and Hungary after over four decades.
Final preparations include detaching the capsule's trunk and orienting the heat shield ahead of atmospheric entry, which will expose the spacecraft to temperatures nearing 1,600 degrees Celsius.
Parachutes will deploy in two stages -- first stabilising chutes at about 5.7 km altitude, followed by the main parachutes at roughly two km.
Shukla recalled the time when his icon Rakesh Sharma had travelled to space 41 years ago and described how India looked from there.
"We all are still curious to know how India looks today from above. Aaj ka Bharat mahatvakanshi dikhta hai. Aaj ka Bharat nidar dikhta hai, Aaj ka Bharat confident dikhta hai. Aaj ka Bharat garv se purn dikhta hai. (Today's India looks full of ambition, fearless, confident and full of pride)," Shukla said.
"It is because of all these reasons, I can say it once again that today's India still looks 'saare jahan se accha'," he said.
A formal farewell ceremony on the ISS on Sunday was marked by brief remarks by the Ax-4 crew, some of whom appeared to have got emotional as they hugged the members of Expedition 73 with whom new friendships were forged during the stay.
"I didn't imagine all of this when I started on the Falcon-9 on June 25. I think it has been incredible because of the people involved. People standing behind me (the Expedition 73 crew) have made it really special for us. It was an incredible joy to be here and work alongside professionals like you," Shukla said.
It has been a historic trip for Shukla, who became the first Indian to travel to the ISS and only the second to travel to space after Sharma's pathbreaking spaceflight as part of the then Soviet Union's mission to Salyut-7 space station in 1984.
ISRO paid approximately Rs 550 crore for Shukla's travel to the ISS, an experience that will help the space agency in the planning and execution of its human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, set to take to orbit in 2027.