Axiom-4 undocks from ISS, Shubhanshu Shukla’s 22-hr homecoming begins after 20-day space mission

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, along with Commander Peggy Whitson, Slawosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Tibor Kapu, is on his way to Earth after an 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.

The separation of the Dragon spacecraft from the ISS occurred as planned, following nominal thruster firings that guided the spacecraft away from the ISS’s Harmony module.

Commander Peggy Whitson expressed gratitude to the ISS crew for their support during the Ax-4 mission, which spanned nearly 18 days.

According to NASA, the crew began departure preparations with hatch closure at 2:00 pm IST on Monday (July 14).

By 2:25 pm IST, the crew was inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named “Grace,” with the hatch closed.

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Undocking procedures started at approximately 4:15 pm IST, and the actual undocking from the ISS’s Harmony module started at 4:45 pm IST (7:15 am EDT), after a delay of 10 minutes.

The spacecraft is scheduled to splash down off the California coast in the Pacific Ocean at around 3:00 pm IST (9:30 am GMT) on Tuesday (July 15), with a one-hour margin of flexibility due to weather and re-entry conditions, as noted by Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh.

“These timings have a margin window of approximately 1 hour,” Indian Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh said.

What was Shukla’s mission?

During his time on the ISS, Shukla conducted significant experiments, including a study on space microalgae to explore their potential for producing food, oxygen, and biofuels for long-duration space missions.

He performed centrifugation on cyanobacteria, comparing two strains to investigate how microgravity impacts their growth, cellular behaviour, and biochemical activity.

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These experiments, among the 60+ conducted by the Ax-4 crew, could pave the way for advancements in space agriculture and life support systems.

(This is developing story)