Shubhanshu Shukla Return Date Set For July 14

Just as there had been a postponement in the historic moment when an Indian went to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time, the return also faced a slight delay. But now it has been announced that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be departing from the ISS for Earth on July 14.

Axiom Space, which conducted the mission, posted an update on its website, ‘Pending favorable weather conditions, the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew is set to undock from the International Space Station no earlier than Monday, July 14, at 7:05 a.m. ET.  Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz “Suave” Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu are making the most of their final days on orbit, pushing forward a wide range of experiments that could shape the future of space exploration and improve life on Earth.’

Shukla’s flight is a precursor to India’s own manned space mission, Gaganyaan, with Indian Space Research Organisation conducting a number of experiments at the ISS. Plus, it will have in Shukla someone with experience piloting a spacecraft. He has already, by being in the ISS, orbited the earth more than 230 times and racked up around 10 million kilometres of space travel.

They reached the ISS on June 26 in what was expected to be a two-week stint, but was extended by a few days, something not unusual in such manned missions given the priority to safety.

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