The Last Hour: What Happens Before India's Joint ISS Mission Begins Its Fiery Descent?

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17 hours ago

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Undocked from ISS, the SpaceX Dragon spent a day circling the Earth, waiting for the perfect alignment to begin its safe re-entry which is set to begin at 2.30pm
After a year-long intensive training programme culminating in 18 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), India's first-ever joint mission to the ISS entered its final leg with the departure of the four crew members. The mission involved nearly Rs 550 crore investment from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
The SpaceX Dragon, carrying Axiom Mission-4 crew, including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, autonomously undocked from the ISS at 4.45pm on Monday, and began its return journey with a series of departure burns. The engines fired multiple times to move it away from the ISS so that the two do not collide. Once it settled into a safe orbit, the crew also changed out of their pressure suits and took time to rest.
The spacecraft spent the night circling Earth waiting for the perfect alignment too begin its safe re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Meanwhile, the ground teams of SpaceX and Axiom Space closely monitored its trajectory, while keeping a watchful eye on the weather conditions off the California coast, where the capsule is expected to splashdown. The entire return journey is nearly 22.5 hours long.
THE LAST CRUCIAL HOUR: A FIERY DESCENT
Once it reaches its designated location in space on Tuesday afternoon, the crew will suit up in their pressure suits again. Around 2.07pm, the Dragon 'Grace' will initiate its final de-orbit burn to lower its altitude, and begin its descent back to Earth. Shortly thereafter, at around 2.26pm IST, it will detach its trunk—the part carrying solar panels, and other parts which are no longer required. Four minutes later, it will close its nose cone, which protects the hardware and sensors for re-entry to begin.
The Dragon carrying the four crew members and nearly 263 kgs pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware, will then begin its fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, bolting through the searing temperatures over 1,600℃ with a speed of nearly 6 kms/second or more with its heat shield protecting the capsule.
At around 2.57pm, the drag parachutes will be deployed when it's nearly 5-6 kms from the Earth, followed by main parachutes at 2 kms, which will bring down its speed dramatically.
THE SPLASHDOWN
If all goes as per the planned schedule, Dragon Grace will splashdown into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast precisely by 3.01pm. The ship and the recovery teams are already on standby to assist the astronauts when they exit the Dragon capsule, following which they will be taken to Houston for medical check-ups and further evaluation.
Astronauts often feel dizzy or disoriented upon return from microgravity conditions in space, so the four-crew members are expected to remain under quarantine for at least 10 days, allowing them time to acclimatise to the conditions on Earth.
The 18-day mission—India's first to the International Space Station—marks a significant milestone for the space agency, which is now aiming to undertake its own human spaceflight in 2027. It was also the first-ever private spaceflight collaboration undertaken by ISRO with the US space agency, Axiom Space, which also completed its fourth private spaceflight.
Apart from Shukla, who was serving as the main pilot, the mission was led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and two mission specialists from European Space Agency (ESA) Project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—also on their maiden visit to the ISS. The astronauts began their journey on June 25 aboard SpaceX Falcon9 carrying nearly 60 experiments from across countries, including seven from ISRO.
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First Published:
July 15, 2025, 08:48 IST
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