The countdown began when the parachutes were visible.

It culminated in a loud roar when the Dragon Grace dipped into the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

At the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, more than 100 students watched astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others of the commercial Axiom-4 mission return to earth safely.

“My heart was racing when the parachutes were visible. As the spacecraft (SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule) touched the water, I felt extremely proud as an Indian,” said Arghya Chakraborty, in Class VIII of Mitra Institution (Main) in Sealdah.

Arghya wants to pursue higher studies in humanities but is “fascinated” by India’s space aspirations. He was part of the large group of students who saw the screening at the BITM.

The spacecraft carrying the four-member team — Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary — parachuted into calm seas off the southern California coast at around 3.02pm, following a fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere that capped a 22-hour journey after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station.

The return flight concluded the fourth ISS mission organised by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in collaboration with SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire Elon Musk headquartered near Los Angeles.

The return was shown live by a joint SpaceX-Axiom webcast.

Two sets of parachutes, visible through the darkness and light fog with infrared cameras, slowed the capsule’s final descent moments before its splashdown off the San Diego coast.

At the Ballygunge museum, another round of applause and high-fives erupted when Shukla was first seen coming out of the capsule. He was the second to come out after the commander, Whitson.

As Shukla came out smiling, the Tricolour was being waved at the BITM.
“This is an incredible feat. To see such events live stokes students’ curiosity and involvement,” said Tarun Das, technical officer at the BITM.

Before the screening, an open-house quiz was organised for the students. Not surprisingly, the topic was “Spaceflight Missions: India and Beyond”. An interactive demonstration of the basic technology that drives spacecraft, including the Dragon ‘Grace’, drew many young minds.