Jun 18, 2025 09:41 AM IST
The launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, was earlier rescheduled for Wednesday
The launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, has been delayed for the fifth time. June 19 was last week announced as the likely date for the launch.
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than Sunday (June 22) for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Axiom Mission 4.
“The change in a targeted launch date provides NASA time to continue evaluating space station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module,” said the US space agency NASA in a statement.
The Ax-4 mission of Texas-based Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA was to take off with a four-member crew from India, Hungary, Poland, and the US for a two-week mission on ISS.
The mission was scheduled to first take off on May 29. It has been postponed for reasons ranging from technical issues on the Crew Dragon Module, unfavourable weather conditions, a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket, and now another technical issue on ISS.
Other crew members include Commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański and Tibor Kapu. When the mission takes off, it will be the first human spaceflight carrying an Indian, a Hungarian, and a Pole to space after over 40 years.
On the ISS, the Ax-4 crew is set to conduct 60 science experiments representing 30 countries. Shukla will undertake seven homegrown experiments and five under the Isro-NASA collaboration.
