Shubhanshu Shukla on ISS: Following an 18-day stay at the International Space Station, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three other members of the commercial Axiom-4 mission staged a fiery return to Earth on Tuesday when the Dragon “Grace” spacecraft splashed down off the coast of San Diego in southern California. The voyage lasted 22.5 hours.

At 4:45 p.m. IST on Monday, the spacecraft carrying Shukla, commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland undocked from the space station. To convey the spacecraft to the recovery ship Shannon, where the astronauts will be removed from the capsule, speed boats operated by SpaceX, the mission’s transporter, were observed approaching the spacecraft.

Before boarding a helicopter to return to shore, the Axiom-4 crew will go through a battery of medical examinations aboard the ship. In contrast to the weightlessness they experienced in space, the four astronauts are anticipated to spend seven days in rehabilitation while they acclimate to life on Earth under the effect of gravity.

Also Read: Shubhanshu Shukla Returns Home After Making Space History

Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) and only the second Indian in space, following Rakesh Sharma’s Soviet mission in 1984. Hailing from Lucknow, Shukla studied at City Montessori School in Aliganj before graduating. The Indian Air Force commissioned him as a fighter pilot in 2006, and since then, he has accumulated over 2,000 flight hours and served for more than 16 years. Family and friends fondly call him Gunjan. He is the youngest of three siblings and the first in his family to join the military. Shukla also has a four-year-old son, who watched his father make history from back home.

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