India, June 25 -- Within eight minutes of launching the Axiom-4 mission, which carried Indian Air Force (IAF) Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members to the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket returned safely to Earth on Tuesday.

The Axiom-4 mission is a private astronaut mission to the ISS and will "realise the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary. The mission aims to carry out around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries, including India, the US, Saudi Arabia, and nations across Europe.

The mission's launch finally took place on Wednesday after being delayed six times. It was all set for a seventh delay after a software glitch blocked the uploading ...