Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla returned to India in the early hours of Sunday, a month after the successful completion of the historic Axiom-4 mission. Upon his arrival in New Delhi, Shukla met with ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.
Singh shared a video of the welcome on X, writing: “India’s space glory touches Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, #Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla, lands in Delhi in the early hours today.” Shukla was accompanied by Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, who served as backup astronaut for the mission.
“Privileged to receive both of them at New Delhi Airport, along with Delhi CM Smt. Rekha Gupta, ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan, and later joined by an enthusiastic group of students,” Singh wrote in another post.
Shukla served as mission pilot on Axiom-4, which launched aboard the Dragon Grace spacecraft on June 25. The crew included mission commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu. During the mission, Shukla spent 21 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
He has now entered history as only the second Indian astronaut in space and the first to serve aboard the ISS. Reflecting on the mission, Shukla expressed gratitude to the Government of India, ISRO, the Indian Air Force, NASA, and SpaceX. “The 21 days in space exceeded my expectations. It has filled me with a sense of purpose. This is only the beginning,” he said.
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