Houston: The Axiom-4 mission has officially begun its journey back to Earth after successfully undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday. Axiom Space and NASA confirmed the event, marking the completion of the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting lab.
According to a mission update on NASA’s blog, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft separated from the station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:15 a.m. EDT. The capsule is now carefully maneuvering into an orbital path that will guide it back to Earth, with splashdown expected off the coast of California on Tuesday, July 15.
SpaceX confirmed the undocking on social media platform X, noting that Dragon will perform a series of carefully timed departure burns before beginning re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The entire return journey is expected to take around 22.5 hours.
One of the mission’s standout crew members is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India’s first astronaut to visit the ISS. Representing the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Shukla is piloting the spacecraft for re-entry. Hatch closure was completed earlier, and the crew is now safely aboard Dragon for their return trip.
Axiom-4’s departure was marked by a heartfelt farewell aboard the ISS. ISS Commander Takuya Onishi expressed appreciation for the crew’s contributions, stating:
“Peggy, Shux, Suave, Tibor, we really enjoyed your company and thank you so much for bringing so much joy, excitement, inspiration and other positive ways to make our experience here even better. Your dedication to science and your profession definitely set a new standard for private astronaut missions.”
Commander Peggy Whitson, leading the Ax-4 mission, responded warmly:
“We really enjoyed ourselves up here. It was an amazing experience… It’s special to work with folks who became our friends, and the camaraderie and teaching were really exceptional.”
On Sunday, Group Captain Shukla gave an emotional farewell from orbit, channeling the legacy of India’s first man in space, Rakesh Sharma, with a modern echo of his iconic phrase:
“Aaj ka Bharat abhi bhi saare jahaan se achha dikhta hai” (Today’s India still looks more splendid than the whole world).
The Ax-4 crew includes:
Commander Peggy Whitson (Axiom Space, USA)
Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla (ISRO, India)
Mission Specialist Slawosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski (ESA, Poland)
Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu (HUNOR Program, Hungary)
During their mission, the crew conducted over 60 scientific studies and participated in more than 20 outreach events, according to Axiom Space.
Launched on June 25 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, the Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS on June 26 at 4:05 p.m. IST, slightly ahead of schedule.
Upon its return, Dragon will carry more than 580 pounds of cargo, including critical NASA hardware and scientific data from onboard experiments.
As Axiom-4 nears the final leg of its journey, it marks another step forward in the evolution of commercial space exploration and international collaboration aboard the ISS.
