Peggy Whitson and Axiom Crew Begin Return from Space Station
NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, now a private astronaut, and the Axiom Crew from India, Poland, and Hungary left the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday to return to Earth. Their departure marks the end of their 18-day mission aboard the ISS, organised by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX.
Axiom Crew Smooth Departure from the ISS
At 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT), the Crew Dragon capsule carrying the astronauts undocked from the ISS. This capsule, named “Grace” by the crew, separated from the station while orbiting 260 miles above the east coast of India. Short rocket bursts helped push the capsule safely away from the ISS.
The crew, wearing white-and-black flightsuits, were seen in live video footage strapped securely in their seats before departure. If all goes to plan, their capsule will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere after a 22-hour journey and splash down in the Pacific Ocean near California around 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) on Tuesday.
Historic Mission for Three Nations
Whitson, aged 65, led the Ax-4 multinational team. Her crewmates include Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. This mission is significant for their home countries as it marks the first human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary in over 40 years. It also represents their first astronauts to visit the ISS under government-sponsored programmes.
During their time in space, the crew conducted dozens of microgravity research experiments. This journey, the fourth organised by Axiom since 2022, highlights the company’s growing role in commercial space missions.
SpaceX and Axiom’s Continued Growth
The Axiom-4 mission was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25. The capsule used for this flight is the fifth in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon fleet. It also marks SpaceX’s 18th crewed spaceflight since 2020, when the company began transporting astronauts from US soil after NASA’s shuttle era ended.
Peggy Whitson, a retired NASA astronaut since 2018, now serves as Axiom’s director of human spaceflight. During her career, she became NASA’s first female chief astronaut and the first woman to command an ISS expedition. Her latest mission adds nearly three more weeks to her previous record of 675 days in space – the highest by any US astronaut.
Axiom, a Houston-based company founded nine years ago by a former NASA ISS programme manager, is working towards building a private space station to replace the ISS, which NASA expects to retire by 2030.
with inputs from Reuters