Shubhanshu Shukla Return LIVE: Indian astronaut lands safely, first photo goes viral
Shubhanshu Shukla Earth Return: SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft successfully made a splashdown landing off the coast of California at the scheduled time on Tuesday, at 3:01 PM (IST). The Elon Musk-owned company’s spacecraft carried Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others from the Axiom-4 mission crew. The crew members spent 18 days at the ISS and conducted approximately 60 experiments. The spacecraft took nearly 22.5 hours to journey from the orbiting laboratory to make a safe landing on Earth off the coast of California. The dragon aircraft left the ISS at around 4.50 pm (IST) on Monday. The spacecraft piloted by Shukla splashed down with grace, NASA said.
The images of Shuka and the crew members have gone viral on social media platforms like wildfire. Several users congratulated the crew for their successful mission.
The official reached the spacecraft which was swimming on the ocean and safety carried it on the ship. Shukla was the second person came out of the spacecraft, waiving and smiling to the camera. Medic teams immediately started medical checkups of the astronauts to determine their physical health.
Notably, the landing was similar to landing of Indian-origin US astronaut Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in March this year. Williams landed on Earth after nine-month mission at the ISS. The SpaceX capsule known as ‘Freedom’ made splash landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X and welcomed the crew members including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla upon their return. He wrote that Shukla inspired several dreams through his dedication, terming the achievement a significant step towards Mission Gaganyaan.
Today, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ‘Grace’ safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near the California coast, bringing Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew home. The crew members included Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who made history as the first Indian to visit ISS.
The successful splashdown was confirmed by Elon Musk’s company – SpaceX, concludes 18-day mission at the International Space Station.
SpaceX had earlier confirmed that the Dragon spacecraft ‘Grace’ was ready for splashdown near California coast with its nosecone closed and secured for re-entry into our atmosphere.
“Dragon’s nosecone is closed and secured for reentry. Splashdown in ~26 minutes,” SpaceX stated in a post on X.”
Axiom Mission 4 lifted off on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The following day, on June 26 at 4:05 pm IST, the Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station ahead of schedule, linking up with the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
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