Axiom 4 mission: How Dragon 'Grace' will bring Shukla and crew back from space

Time of India

5 days ago

IAF Group Captain
Shubhanshu Shukla
, along with
Peggy Whitson
, ESA astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungarian astronaut
Tibor Kapu
, will splash down to Earth off the coast of California around 3 pm IST on July 15. The Dragon 'Grace' vessel will undergo a series of re-entry manoeuvres before Shukla and crew make final landing.
Here's how 'Grace' will bring Axiom 4 mission crew back to Earth:
Departure from ISS: Dragon's return journey from space begins with a scientifcally planned departure process from ISS. All four astronauts will suit up and strap themselves into their seats inside the capsule. The hatch connecting the Grace to ISS will be closed and sealed to begin the air depressurisation process. Once the leak checks and system diagnostics are completed, the spacecraft is ready for autonomous undocking.
Separation from ISS: Once all the systems are cleared, Dragon 'Grace' will separate from ISS and begin a series of small thruster burns to distance itself and shift into a new orbit in preparation for re-entry.
Orbital Phasing: The next step after Dragon's separation from ISS is orbital phasing manoeuvre that lasts from a few hours to over a day. This depends on the mechanics and readiness of NASA's splashdown site.
The spacecraft will jettison its trunk section, housing solar panels and radiators. Then, under favourable conditions,
SpaceX
will command a deorbit burn, which is the most critical manoeuvre of the return journey.
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The second burn, known as the 'deorbit burn', will slow the capsule down and drop it out of orbit using onboard thrusters. With this step, the spacecraft is committed to re-entry on Earth, and cannot enter ISS's orbit in next 24 hours.
Peak Heating Phase: The spacecraft, after gaining speed, will plunge into the upper atmosphere at a speed of nearly 28,000 km/h. The exterior of the Dragon vessel will heat up to 1,900°C. At this point, the team experiences a brief communication blackout that lasts around six to seven minutes. This happens because the spacecraft is surrounded by ionised gases for protection against heat. The vessel slows down rapidly, also reducing the external body temperature.
Preparation for splashdown: When 'Grace' reaches a point of 5,500 metres above the ocean, two small drogue parachutes will be deployed to stabilise the vehicle. After a few seconds, another pair of four large main parachutes will unfurl from the vessel's body to reduce the speed to a safe range of around 24-32 km/h.
Splashdown & Recover: After a significant reduction in speed, Dragon 'Grace' will splash down in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The SpaceX recovery ship, equipped with fast boats carrying medical and technical teams, will stand by as it waits for the vessel to splash down. These teams will prepare to lift the vessel into the ship using a hydraulic cradle after performing safety checks.
Then, Ax-4 crew members will be carefully helped out of the capsule, followed by preliminary medical assessments. The team members help the crew get back to land, usually via helicopter or ship. The landed crew goes under further medical evaluations. Recovery procedures and official mission debriefs happen ahead of landing.
SpaceX expects to refurbish the Grace spacecraft for potential reuse. The vessel is completely automated to ensure precision, safety and efficiency during the entire operation. It is also capable of manual override, if needed.