Shubhanshu Shukla Return LIVE: Axiom-4 Crew En Route Home After 18-Day Mission Aboard ISS, To Reach Earth Today

Shubhanshu Shukla Return To Earth LIVE Updates: Indian astronaut and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to return to Earth after spending nearly three weeks in space. The hatch has closed, and the astronauts now wait to undock from the space station and begin their journey home.

Shukla and three other astronauts of the Axiom-4 mission began their return journey to Earth on Monday as the Dragon Grace spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station after an 18-day stay.

Following a series of orbital manoeuvres after undocking, the Dragon spacecraft is expected to splash down near the coast of California on Tuesday at 3.01 pm IST.

This mission not only marks Shukla as the second Indian astronaut in space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984, but also positions India as a serious contender in the global space community.

Shukla and three others, Axiom 4 (Ax-4) crew Commander Peggy Whitson, and Mission Specialists Slawosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu embarked on the space odyssey on June 25 from Florida.