NASA has announced it will livestream the departure of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) private astronaut mission from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, July 14, with undocking scheduled for approximately 7:05 AM EDT (4:30 PM IST).
The mission includes Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who made history as the first Indian pilot to visit the ISS, alongside veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, ESA’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu.
NASA’s coverage will begin with hatch closure at 4:30 AM EDT (2:00 PM IST) and conclude about 30 minutes after undocking. Viewers can continue watching the re-entry and splashdown of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft via Axiom Space (axiom.space/live) and SpaceX’s official website.
The Dragon capsule will return with over 580 pounds of cargo, including scientific data and NASA hardware from over 60 experiments carried out during the 17-day mission.
Group Captain Shukla has played a key role in several space-based studies, including:
- Centrifugation and freezing of microalgae to explore their viability for life-support systems in long-duration missions
- Voyager Displays study, focused on eye movement and coordination in microgravity
- Voice in Space project, which analyzed vocal performance shifts in orbit
- Acquired Equivalence Test, which studied cognitive flexibility in space environments
- Human health experiments related to gut microbiota, immune response, muscular stimulation, and microbiome profiling
These experiments are vital for shaping future deep-space exploration missions, particularly concerning human health and adaptability.
The Ax-4 mission launched on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and docked with the ISS on June 26, marking another major milestone for India’s presence in space exploration.
