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yesterday

Dragon Grace Splashdown Concludes Axiom-4 Mission, Bolsters India’s Gaganyaan Ambitions

After an 18-day ISS mission the astronauts have commenced a week-long rehabilitation, which officials describe as a critical precursor to India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight effort.

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Astronaut-Indian Air Force test pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla during his stay at International Space Station
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The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked at 4:45 pm IST on Monday from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module.

Overview

  • The SpaceX Dragon Grace undocked from the ISS on July 14 at 2:37 PM IST and splashed down off California at 3:01 PM IST on July 15, completing a 22-hour return flight.
  • Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu have begun a standard seven-day rehabilitation to readjust to Earth’s gravity.
  • During their 18-day stay the crew conducted over 60 experiments, including seven microgravity studies led by ISRO to inform future long-duration missions.
  • The Axiom-4 mission, executed by Axiom Space, NASA, ISRO and SpaceX, underscores expanding private-sector roles in international human spaceflight.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the mission’s success as a pivotal achievement that advances India’s planned Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.