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New Delhi, June 18, 2025: Due to last minute development, the Axiom-4 mission of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station has been postponed to June 22.
NASA and Axiom Space are postponing the launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station, said NASA.
The mission was postponed to allow NASA to evaluate the operations on the orbital lab after the recent repairs in the Russian section, quoting Axiom Space media reports said today.
The Axiom-4 mission was earlier scheduled for lift-off from Kennedy Space Centre of NASA in Florida on June 19 onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are now scheduling about June 22 for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4, the reports added
Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot.
The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The crew will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Axiom-4 crew includes members from India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation’s first mission to the space station in history and second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years, Axiom Space said.
Shubhanshu Shukla will be India’s second national astronaut to go to space since 1984.
Sławosz Uznański, European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut, will be the second Polish astronaut since 1978.
Tibor Kapu will be the second national Hungarian astronaut since 1980.
Peggy Whitson will command her second commercial human spaceflight mission, adding to her standing record for the longest cumulative time in space by an American astronaut.
Ax-4 will be the second commercial spaceflight mission made up of government and ESA-sponsored national astronauts.
The Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries’ second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station.
This historic mission underscores how Axiom Space is redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit and elevating national space programmes globally, said Axiom Space.
Human space flight missions provides a strong opportunity to pursue international collaborations. The first Indian to travel to space, Wing Commander (Retd.) Rakesh Sharma undertook his iconic mission in 1984 through such a collaborative effort.
The official state visit of Prime Minster Narendra Modi to USA in June, 2023 has led to another defining chapter in Indian space programme, in terms of a collaborative international human space mission.
This mission with ISRO’s Gaganyatri marks the visit of first Indian ever to the International Space Station (ISS). During this mission, ISRO’s Gaganyatri will carry out shortlisted Indian microgravity research experiments onboard International Space Station, said ISRO.
