Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 15 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his team for successfully completing the historic Axiom Mission 4 and returning safely to Earth.
https://x.com/myogiadityanath/status/1945069704571167024
In an X post, the Chief Minister hailed the achievement as a proud moment for India, particularly for Uttar Pradesh, highlighting the team's courage and dedication to scientific advancement.
"Welcome back to Earth. Heartfelt congratulations to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his team for successfully completing the historic #AxiomMission4 and returning safely. Your achievement is a proud symbol of courage, dedication, and commitment to science. Today, every Indian, especially those from Uttar Pradesh, feels proud. India is eager to welcome you," CM Yogi Adityanath posted on X.
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft 'Grace' successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Tuesday, marking the safe return of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew, including pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
The splashdown, confirmed by SpaceX, concludes a nearly 19-day mission aboard the ISS, fulfilling a significant milestone in Indo-US space cooperation.
"Splashdown of Dragon confirmed welcome back to Earth, @AstroPeggy, Shux, @astro_slawosz, and Tibi!" SpaceX said in a post on X.
Earlier, SpaceX stated that it was set for a splashdown on Earth off the coast of California, as the nosecone of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft 'Grace' has been closed and secured for reentry.
SpaceX made the announcement of the mission in a post on X, as the mission marks the final stages of the crew's return from the International Space Station (ISS) after almost 20 days in space.
The re-entry was done following the completion of the deorbit burn and the jettisoning of the trunk, as confirmed by SpaceX.
"Dragon's nosecone is closed and secured for reentry. Splashdown in ~26 minutes," SpaceX stated in a post on X.
"Dragon's deorbit burn is complete and the trunk has been jettisoned," stated another post.
The crew returned to Earth in approximately 22.5 hours from the ISS. Earlier, on Monday, the Ax-4 successfully undocked and was making its way back to Earth, as observed by Axiom Space and NASA.
In an informative blog about mission updates, NASA announced that the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked at 7:15 a.m. EDT (4:45 p.m. IST) from the space-facing port of the International Space Station's Harmony module, completing the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4.
Axiom Space, in its live session on X, noted that the Axiom-4 mission saw over 60 scientific studies and more than 20 outreach events.
The Ax-4 crew, comprising Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Slawosz "Suave" Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) astronaut Tibor Kapu, had been actively engaged in research and outreach activities aboard the ISS as part of the mission during the past 18 days.