SpaceX Capsule Brings 4 Astronauts Safely Back to Earth, Concluding Ax-4 Mission

In this image from NASA, we see crew members from Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission aboard the International Space Station on June 26, 2025. From left to right are Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, Peggy Whitson from Axiom Space, Shubhanshu Shukla from India, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

Early Tuesday morning, a SpaceX capsule returned to Earth carrying four astronauts. The capsule plunged through Earth's atmosphere, concluding with a Pacific Ocean splashdown near San Diego after their 20-day journey in space.

This early morning homecoming, marked by a sonic boom that echoed across southern California just before 2:31 a.m. PT, finalized Axiom Space's fourth orbital mission to the ISS, where the crew had spent 18 days docked.

Axiom Space, headquartered in Houston, Texas, partners with SpaceX for trips to the International Space Station and collaborates with NASA to facilitate the astronauts' use of the station. The Ax-4 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During this journey, the four-member crew achieved several significant milestones:

While residing on the space station, the Ax-4 team worked on around 60 scientific experiments and research projects, reportedly setting a record for the most science-oriented activities on an Axiom Space outing.

This marks the 18th instance of SpaceX launching humans into orbit. NASA's next mission is planned for launch in a few weeks, also from the Kennedy Space Center, for an extended stay on the space station.