Lucknow: The home of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla in Lucknow was filled with emotion, pride, and celebration today as news came in of his safe return from the International Space Station (ISS). Shukla, who became the first Indian astronaut in over four decades to visit the ISS, successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast at 3:00 PM IST, completing Axiom Space’s historic Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.
The Shukla family watched the landing live, tears streaming down their faces as they witnessed their son return safely to Earth after 18 days in space.
On Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s return to Earth, his mother Asha Shukla, her voice filled with emotion, said, “Excitement is endless, we are very proud. I’m feeling very happy that my child is finally coming back after so many days. He told me yesterday it would be his last call from space, and that he was packing to leave. I just kept praying for his safe return. The next generation should take inspiration from him and move ahead.”
His father, a retired army officer, proudly said, “This is not just our moment; this is a moment of pride for every Indian. He’s made the country proud on an international platform.”
Neighbours and well-wishers gathered outside the Shukla residence with sweets and the Indian flag. Slogans like “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” rang out as children danced to patriotic songs and the family shared updates from NASA and SpaceX.
Group Captain Shukla, along with fellow astronauts Peggy Whitson (USA), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary), boarded the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft “Grace” on July 14 and undocked from the ISS’s Harmony module. SpaceX confirmed “Dragon separation” shortly afterwards, marking the beginning of the 23-hour return journey.
