After repeated postponements, technical snags, weather issues, Axiom Space is finally ready to launch India’s Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station as part of the Ax-4 mission.
Axiom Space has announced that the Axe-4 mission will launch aboard the Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June 22.
The lift-off after repeated delays is now scheduled for 1:12 pm IST.
Nasa said that the change in the targeted launch date provides astronauts aboard the Space Station time to continue evaluating operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module.
The launch was last postponed on June 12 due to a pressure leak detected aboard the flying laboratory.
Peggy Whitson, former Nasa astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are European Space Agency project astronaut Sawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
“It is not uncommon for the agency and its international partners to adjust launches around changes in operations aboard the space station. Teams are making progress evaluating the transfer tunnel configuration, resulting in an updated launch opportunity for the private astronaut mission,” Nasa had said.
The four astronauts are in quarantine as the mission date moves ahead.
The Ax-4 mission is aimed at conducting 60 scientific experiments in space. India is sending seven scientific studies that will be led by Shukla, a serving test pilot in the Indian Air Force.
The launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, initially set for May 29, 2025, faced multiple postponements due to a series of technical and environmental issues. It was first delayed to June 8 after observations related to the Crew Dragon’s electrical harness.
A further slip to June 9 occurred due to Falcon 9 vehicle readiness delays. Unfavourable weather in the ascent corridor pushed the date to June 10.
During pre-launch tests on June 8, an oxygen leak and an engine actuator anomaly were discovered; the actuator and its controller were replaced, and the launch was rescheduled for June 11.
With the new launch date and time set, Axiom Space is in the final phase of sending the astronauts on their bold space mission.
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