SpaceX capsule carrying Shubhanshu Shukla, 3 others splashes down to Earth after 18 days at space station

The capsule had undocked from the space station at 4:45 pm IST on Monday.

Chennai: A smiling Shubhanshu Shukla, the Indian Air Force’s Group Captain, and three other astronauts emerged from the Dragon spacecraft after their splashdown off the San Diego coast in California, US, on Tuesday evening, successfully concluding their 20-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS) and back to Earth.

At 3:01 PM IST, the Dragon spacecraft piloted by Shukla splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, after which boats moved in to retrieve them safely. An hour later, Shukla, Peggy Whitson of the US, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) exited the spacecraft onto a ferry at sea.

Shukla was all smiles as he came out of the spacecraft. The four-member crew had spent 18 days at the ISS conducting various experiments. While the journey to space took about 28 hours, the return trip to Earth lasted approximately 23 hours. The Indian astronaut not only enjoyed carrot and moong dal halwa at the ISS but also shared them with his fellow crew members.

In this screengrab from a video posted by @Axiom_Space on July 15, 2025, Axiom-4 mission crew member and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla greets as he reaches Earth with other crew members of the mission aboard the Dragon spacecraft that splashed down off California.

“Welcome back to Earth, Ax-4! Today the Dragon spacecraft successfully splashed down, marking the end of their successful mission to the International Space Station,” said Axiom Space. Shukla became the second Indian to travel to space and return safely after Rakesh Sharma in 1984; he is also the first Indian to reach the ISS.

All four astronauts will undergo a week-long quarantine before resuming normal life. The mission completed 320 orbits around the Earth, covered 8.4 million miles of spaceflight, and conducted 23 outreach events.

The experience gained by Shukla on the Ax-2 mission is expected to aid the Gaganyaan mission, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. Shukla is one of four IAF pilots selected for Gaganyaan, India’s first human spaceflight program, and underwent 10 months of training with NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX for his journey to space.

NASA said during their stay the crew conducted microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities. “The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facilities. Throughout the mission, the astronauts conducted about 60 science experiments and returned scientific samples, including NASA cargo, back to Earth,” NASA said in a statement.

NASA and ISRO collaborated on five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations. The crew also carried a small toy swan named Joy inside their spacecraft.

The swan was chosen for its cultural significance: it symbolizes wisdom and is the vehicle of Saraswati in India, represents purity and resilience in Poland, and loyalty and grace in Hungary.

Shukla, commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter wing in June 2006, was promoted to Group Captain in March 2024, with 2,000 hours of flight experience across aircraft including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, and Jaguar.