Axiom-4 mission return to Earth: Undocking from ISS, splashdown off California coast — full schedule here
The undocking of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the station's Harmony module is scheduled for approximately 7.05 am EDT (4.35 pm IST) Monday.
The splashdown off the coast of California, US, is expected at 5.30 am EDT (3 PM IST) on Tuesday.
The update in timings is subject to weather conditions and have a margin window of approximately one hour, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
In a post on X, he specified the splashdown time and wrote: 'As of now, undocking has been scheduled for tomorrow, 14th July at 4:30 pm IST. Arrival back to Earth…. splash down scheduled for 15th July at 3:00 pm IST.'
'Further update, if any, shall be shared accordingly,' Singh added.
Update: #Axiom4 International Space Station #ISS Mission:
As of now, undocking has been scheduled for tomorrow, 14th July at 4:30 PM IST.
Arrival back to earth…. splash down scheduled for 15th July at 3:00 PM IST.
These timings have a margin window of approximately 1 hour.…
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) July 13, 2025
On Saturday, NASA listed the schedule for its live coverage of the return. It had noted that undocking is expected to begin at 7.05 am ET (4.35 pm IST) on Monday, but made no mention of an approximate splashdown time. The timeline is still subject to change based on real-time operations.
4.30 am (2 pm IST) – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+.
4.55 am (2.25 pm IST) – Crew enters spacecraft followed by hatch closing.
6.45 am (4.15 pm IST) – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+, Axiom Space, and SpaceX channels.
7.05 am (4.35 pm IST) – Undocking
NASA's coverage ends approximately 30 minutes after undocking when space station joint operations with Axiom Space and SpaceX conclude.
Axiom Space will resume coverage of Dragon's re-entry and splashdown on the company's website.
Axiom Mission 4 is part of NASA's broader plan to foster a sustainable low Earth orbit economy. Through such commercial missions, NASA seeks to partner with private entities for lower-cost services, allowing the agency to refocus efforts on deep space missions under its Artemis programme.
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