Overview

• The Crew Dragon capsule splashed down July 15 after a 22-hour return flight that followed undocking from the ISS on July 14.
• Crew members included India’s first private-flight astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, Hungary’s Tibor Kapu and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
• The capsule carried about 260 kilograms of NASA equipment and scientific results from over 60 microgravity experiments.
• Ax-4 marks the fourth Commercial LEO Destinations mission, advancing NASA’s plan to outsource crew rotations and cargo returns to private companies through 2030.
• Axiom Space aims to apply insights from Ax-4 as it develops its own modular commercial station modules targeted for deployment in 2026.