But behind the success of this mission lies a tense standoff between Indian space agency ISRO and SpaceX over a potentially disastrous technical flaw.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned to Earth after an 18-day mission on the ISS, marking him as the first Indian to visit the station. As part of the Axiom-4 mission, his journey paves the way for India's Gaganyaan mission in 2027.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station’s first visitors from India, Poland and Hungary headed back to Earth on Monday, wrapping up a private mission and catching a ride home with SpaceX. Their capsule undocked from the orbiting lab and aimed for a splashdown the next morning in the Pacific off the Southern California coast.

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla splashed down off California with Axiom-4 crew after historic space mission at the ISS.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla with other Axiom-4 crew members returned from the International Space Station with 260 Kg of research payload marking India’s first human spaceflight since Rakesh Sharma.

The Axiom-4 crew is to reach Earth onboard a SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft with a splashdown off the coast of California on Tuesday,3 PM (IST) after a 22.5-hour journey from the ISS.

The Axiom-4 mission, featuring IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is set to undock from the ISS. Shukla's life sciences and plantation experiments promise significant benefits globally, backed by Indian institutions.

“Dragon and the @Axiom_Space Ax-4 crew are on track to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of San Diego at ~2:31 a.m. PT tomorrow. Dragon will also announce its arrival with a brief sonic boom prior to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean,” SpaceX posted.