Axiom Space’s Ax-4 Crew Returns from ISS Aboard SpaceX Dragon Grace After Record Research Mission

The newest mission of Axiom Space with the 4 astronauts has discovered their keep aboard the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule referred to as Grace, unboarded from the ISS on July 14, 2025, carrying the quartet on the final leg of Ax-4 mission at 4:45 p.m. IST. It safely manoeuvred away from the orbit’s lab, which was the crew’s residence for greater than 2.5 weeks. Further, it carried out the deorbit burn collection and is on the trail to return again to Earth at round 3:00 p.m. IST.

Ax-4 Mission Wraps Up After Extended ISS Stay and Record-Setting Research

As per NASA, The former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is the commander, and the opposite crew members are pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu. it’s the first spaceflight for all three. However, its fifth mission for Whitson to orbit is recorded as 695 cumulative days.

The mission is an extension of the Houston-based firm’s earlier crewed flights, and is for analysis and science investigations which goal for the understanding of microgravity milieu. So far, Ax-4 has carried out 60 experiments and tech demos with contributions from 31 nations, in addition to a lot of public outreach occasions, and has damaged the report because it continues to refine the orbital operations.

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Grace Returns through Pacific Splashdown

The mission was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 26, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida, and the crew was scheduled to remain aboard the house station for nearly two weeks. This mission lasted 4 days longer than predicted. Departure began this morning, and now the crew and Dragon are on a 22.5-hour path on the right track for splashing down within the Pacific Ocean until the tip of the day.

This would be the second West Coast crew restoration of SpaceX, whereas the primary was of the Crew-9 ISS mission throughout March. SpaceX fully shifted to the Pacific Ocean, reasonably than the Gulf or the Atlantic, after the occasions of particles from Dragon’s trunk and crashing again to Earth. This new reentry minimises the prospect of particles, mentioned the representatives of SpaceX.