New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla upon his return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), saying he has inspired a billion dreams through his dedication. The PM termed the achievement a significant step towards India's Human Space Flight Mission Gaganyaan.

In a post on X, PM Modi wrote,'I join the nation in welcoming Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as he returns to Earth from his historic mission to Space. As India's first astronaut to have visited the International Space Station (ISS), he has inspired a billion dreams through his dedication, courage and pioneering spirit.'

He added, 'It marks another milestone towards our own Human Space Flight Mission - Gaganyaan.'

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft 'Grace' successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, marking the safe return of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew, including pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

The splashdown, confirmed by SpaceX, concludes a nearly 19-day mission aboard the ISS, fulfilling a significant milestone in Indo-US space cooperation.

'Splashdown of Dragon confirmed - welcome back to Earth, @AstroPeggy, Shux, @astro_slawosz, and Tibi!' in a post on X.

The Axiom-4 crew returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) after almost 20 days in space.

The re-entry was done following the completion of the deorbit burn and the jettisoning of the trunk, as confirmed by SpaceX.

'Dragon's nosecone is closed and secured for reentry. Splashdown in ~26 minutes,' SpaceX stated in a post on X.

'Dragon's deorbit burn is complete and the trunk has been jettisoned,' stated another post.

The crew returned to earth in approximately 22.5 hours from the ISS. Earlier, on Monday, the Ax-4 successfully undocked and was making their way back to Earth, as observed by Axiom Space and NASA.

In an informative blog about the mission updates, NASA informed that the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked at 7:15 am EDT or 4:45 pm IST from the space-facing port of the International Space Station's Harmony module, completing the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4.

Axiom Space, in its live session on X, noted that the Axiom-4 mission saw over 60 scientific studies and more than 20 outreach events.

The Ax-4 crew, comprising Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Slawosz 'Suave' Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) astronaut Tibor Kapu, had been actively engaged in research and outreach activities aboard the ISS as part of the mission during the past 18-days.

As per NASA, the Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth with more than 580 pounds of cargo, including NASA hardware and data from over 60 experiments conducted during the mission.

Axiom Mission 4 was launched on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the ISS on June 26 at 4:05 pm IST, ahead of schedule, connecting to the space-facing port of the station's Harmony module. (ANI)