The Axiom-4 mission’s crew, including Shubhanshu Shukla, received a jubilant reception upon arriving at the International Space Station. The spacecraft, named Grace, achieved a successful soft docking at 16:01 while over the North Atlantic.
The Axiom-4 crew, including Shubhanshu Shukla, received a warm welcome with hugs and celebratory drinks as they entered the International Space Station on Thursday.
WATCH | #AxiomMission4 crew – Mission Commander Peggy Whitson (US), Mission pilot #ShubhanshuShukla (India) and Mission Specialists Tibor Kapu (Hungary) and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) enters the International Space Station (ISS).
(Video: NASA via Reuters) pic.twitter.com/rIEHgdu277
— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2025
The newly launched spacecraft, Grace – the fifth in the Dragon series – successfully completed a soft docking with the International Space Station at 16:01 while orbiting over the North Atlantic Ocean.
“At 6:31 am EDT (4:01 IST) on Thursday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station for the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) announced in a statement.
After the spacecraft’s soft docking, a secure connection – known as hard-mating – was established as 12 sets of hooks locked the two orbiting structures together, allowing power and communication links to be activated. Hatch-opening procedures took about two hours to complete before the astronauts could enter the space station.