From Docking to Return: How Axiom-4 Mission Will Pan Out and Why It Matters to India

Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force pilot, is ready to make history as part of Axiom Mission 4. It's not just a spaceflight.  It is an amalgamation of new technology, science diplomacy, and pure guts. We lay it down for you, from launch to docking, science to selfies, and yes, how they will get back to Earth in one piece. 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is where the mission starts.  At 5:52 PM IST on June 10, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will roar to life at Launchpad 39A, the same famous spot that sent Apollo 11 to the Moon. The Crew Dragon Freedom, which has four astronauts on board, is on top of that rocket.  But there is one name that stands out for 1.4 billion of us: Shubhanshu Shukla.  He is not only going to space. He is taking a piece of India with him.  The hopes.  The flag. And a long list of science projects. 

Say Hello to the Axiom 4 crew

Peggy Whitson, the most experienced female astronaut at NASA and an American legend, is on the Axiom-4 crew as the in-charge of the mission. A scientist and engineer from Poland named Slawosz Uznanski.  Tibor Kapu is a mechanical engineer from Hungary.  And Shukla, the IAF Group Captain and Gaganyaan astronaut-in-training, is going into space for the first time. This will be the first flight paid for by the government of each of these countries in more than 40 years.  This is also the first time the three countries will work together on a mission on the International Space Station. 

The Beginning

Once they take off, it takes about 28 hours to go to orbit and meet up. Axiom-4 spacecraft will travel at a speed of around 28,000 kilometers per hour. The capsule will dock with the ISS on June 11 at about 10 PM IST autonomously using the docking mechanism. 

The team starts a 14-day mission with more than 60 experiments in the list once they get on the ISS.  India’s goal? Very clear and strong.  ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) has planned seven tests to learn about things like how the body works and how radiation affects things in space. Shukla will also be a part of five NASA-led human research investigations. These include studying how muscle stem cells regenerate, how seeds germinate in microgravity, how to cultivate microalgae as space food, and how microgravity affects the human body. 

Shubhanshu Shukla- The Man in Charge

Shukla is not only there to do science.  He is there to tell a story.  He has promised to take pictures and videos on the ISS for all the Bharatvaasis. This is emotional, and not just symbolic. He is the first Indian to reach the ISS. And it is a warm-up for India’s human spaceflight- Gaganyaan-which Shukla is training for. So yes, he is not just a passenger. He is a pathfinder.

The Return to Earth

After two weeks of orbiting Earth every 90 minutes, doing tests, drifting around, and soaking in the view, it is time to head home. The Dragon capsule will detach or undock itself from ISS using cold-gas thrusters, and descend to drop.  A deorbit burn slows it down enough to let it drop into the atmosphere of Earth.   It will get hotter than 2000 °C on the way down, but that is what the heat shield is attached to in the spacecraft. This is followed by the parachutes.  Axiom 4 will have a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean upon return to Earth.  SpaceX’s recovery team will then head to recover the capsule and the astronauts, who will then be taken for medical evaluation.

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