Shubhanshu Shukla returns to Earth after 18 historic days on the space station

Punjab First News · 15 July 2025, 4:00 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla smiling in front of the Indian flag inside the International Space Station — Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla with the Indian tricolour aboard the International Space Station on June 28 (NASA Johnson Space Center / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned safely to Earth on Tuesday, July 15. The Axiom-4 crew's SpaceX Dragon capsule, Grace, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California, at 3:01 pm IST.

Shukla is the first Indian to visit the International Space Station, and the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma in 1984.

The mission lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25, after several postponements, and docked with the station the next day.

The Lucknow-born astronaut, call sign 'Shuks', spent 18 days at the station on the privately organised flight by Axiom Space, supported by ISRO and NASA.

The trip home began on July 14 and took about 22.5 hours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Shukla back to Earth.