After 6 delays, Axiom-4 slated to finally lift off today
After getting delayed for six times, the Axiom-4 mission, which will be piloted by India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is now eyeing June 25 for the lift off.“NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting 12.01 pm (IST) on June 25 for the launch of the Axiom-4 mission, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS),” announced the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking is slated to take place on June 26.
“This is the first flight for the Dragon spacecraft, while it will be the second flight for the first stage booster, supporting this mission. The booster had previously launched a Starlink mission,” SpaceX said.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments and demonstrations focused on human research, Earth observation, life sciences, biological sciences and material sciences.
The initial date for the launch was set on May 29, 2025. But since then the mission has been postponed multiple times. The lift-off was initially postponed due to weather conditions. Later, SpaceX had detected an oxygen leak from the rocket.
The repair was carried out on the insistence of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Subsequently, a leakage was detected on the Russian module at the ISS.
The Axiom-4 mission is led by Commander Peggy Whitson, with Shukla as mission pilot and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski as mission specialists. India has spent Rs 550 crore on the private space mission.
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