New Delhi: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla received a grand homecoming in the early hours of Sunday as he landed in Delhi following his historic mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Hundreds gathered at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, waving the tricolour and beating drums to celebrate the moment.
Shukla, who became the second Indian to travel to space, was part of the Axiom-4 mission and spent 18 days aboard the ISS.
He was welcomed by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan.
His wife Kamna and son Kiash were also present at the airport to receive him after his year-long training stint in the United States.
“Thank you, sir. Surely feels good to be back home,” Shukla posted on X in response to Singh’s message hailing his achievement.
Singh, in a separate post, described him as “the iconic son of Mother India” and highlighted the presence of Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, India’s Gaganyaan astronaut and Shukla’s designated backup for the ISS mission.
The government has scheduled a special discussion in the Lok Sabha on Monday titled “India’s First Astronaut Aboard the International Space Station — Critical Role of the Space Programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047” to mark Shukla’s return.
He is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before visiting his hometown Lucknow and later returning to Delhi for the National Space Day celebrations on August 22-23.
The Axiom-4 mission lifted off from Florida on June 25, docking at the ISS the next day.
Shukla returned to Earth on July 15 after conducting more than 60 scientific experiments and participating in 20 outreach sessions alongside fellow astronauts Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
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On Saturday, Shukla shared an emotional note on Instagram before leaving the US, expressing mixed feelings about bidding farewell to his colleagues while looking forward to reuniting with family and fellow citizens.
“Goodbyes are hard, but we need to keep moving in life. As my commander Peggy Whitson fondly says, ‘The only constant in spaceflight is change.’ I believe that applies to life as well,” he wrote, quoting a line from the Bollywood film Swades that inspired him before launch.
Earlier, during his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Modi had lauded Shukla’s achievement and reiterated India’s plans to build its own space station.
