Chennai, July 13 (UNI) The four-member Axion Mission-4 astronaut crew is scheduled to undock from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at approximately 7:05 a.m. EDT (1630 hrs IST) tomorrow , pending weather, to begin their return to Earth and splashdown off the coast of California.
NASA today said the departure operations will begin with hatch closing at 4:30 a.m EDT.
Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary, will have spent about two weeks in space at the conclusion of their mission.
The Dragon spacecraft will return with more than 580 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 60 experiments conducted throughout the mission.
Detaiing the live coverage, NASA said at 4:30 a.m. Hatch closing coverage begins, at 4:55 a.m.
Crew will enter spacecraft followed by hatch closing, at 6:45 a.m. Undocking begins with live coverage on NASA+, Axiom Space, and SpaceX channels., at 7:05 a.m. Undocking will end.
NASA’s coverage ends approximately 30 minutes after undocking when space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX conclude. Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon’s re-entry and splashdown.
A collaboration between NASA and ISRO allowed Axiom Mission 4 to deliver on a commitment highlighted by President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO astronaut to the station.
The space agencies participated in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations. NASA and ISRO have a long-standing relationship built on a shared vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration.
The private mission also carried the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the space station.
The International Space Station is a springboard for developing a low Earth orbit economy. NASA’s goal is to achieve a strong economy off the Earth where the agency can purchase services as one of many customers to meet its science and research objectives in microgravity.
NASA’s commercial strategy for low Earth orbit provides the government with reliable and safe services at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on Artemis missions to the Moon in preparation for Mars while also continuing to use low Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.
