After more than two weeks working in space, the crew of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) officially left the International Space Station (ISS) on the morning of July 14 and is on its journey back to Earth.
The Dragon spacecraft - developed by SpaceX - carrying the Ax-4 crew separated from the ISS at 7:15 a.m. on July 14 (Eastern US time, or 6:15 p.m. the same day Vietnam time) to return to Earth.
According to plan, after a 22.5-hour journey, the ship will land in the Pacific Ocean , off the coast of California (USA).
During their time in orbit, the astronauts conducted about 60 scientific experiments, contributing to expanding humanity's understanding of space and the effects of microgravity on the human body.
However, the special feature of Ax-4 lies not only in technological or scientific advances, but also in the unprecedented spirit of international cooperation.
The crew includes four faces from four different countries: veteran American astronaut Peggy Whitson - who once held the record for total time spent in space for an American astronaut; engineer Shubhanshu Shukla from India; researcher Tibor Kapu from Hungary and astronaut Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski - representing Poland and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Ax-4 is the product of an ambitious collaboration between three major forces in the US space industry: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Axiom Space - a private company pioneering the construction of commercial space stations, and SpaceX - the "space empire" founded by billionaire Elon Musk.
For India, the flight is an important stepping stone towards its first independent manned space mission - Gaganyaan - scheduled for launch in 2027.
Astronaut Shukla had a video call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sharing about life on the space station and even mentioning that he brought gajar ka halwa (a traditional Indian dessert) to share with his teammates.
This will be the second time SpaceX has attempted a crew recovery in the Pacific Ocean, following the success of the Fram-2 mission last April.
Previously, Dragon spacecraft often landed in the Atlantic Ocean, but after incidents involving hull debris falling back to Earth, the company permanently moved to the West Coast to reduce risk and increase safety./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phi-hanh-doan-axiom-mission-4-ket-thuc-hanh-trinh-lich-su-post1049700.vnp
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