Shukla’s mission began with a launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 1, as part of the privately operated Axiom Space Mission-4. His arrival at the ISS marked a national milestone — the second Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission, and the very first to reach the orbiting laboratory.

A private spaceflight featuring the first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary came to a close Tuesday with a Pacific splashdown.

“Thanks for the great ride … Happy to be back,” Commander Peggy Whitson, an Axiom employee and former NASA astronaut, said after the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.