The US space agency NASA has decided to postpone the launch of the Axiom-4 mission scheduled for June 22. Now this mission will be launched on a new date, which will be announced soon. Under this mission, four astronauts were to be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), including Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla. They were to be sent by SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket.
International Space Station posted on their X handle that, “NASA, Axion Space, SpaceX continue reviewing launch opportunities for Axiom Mission 4. NASA is standing down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days.”
NASA said in a statement that NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are jointly reviewing alternative opportunities for the launch of the Axiom-4 mission. The agency has decided to postpone the launch scheduled for June 22 and is now in the process of setting a new date.
According to NASA, more time is needed to assess the operational status of the space station after the recent repairs to the rear of the Zvezda service module. The agency wants to ensure that the station is fully prepared to safely receive new crew members, so it is scanning data on the space station’s interconnected systems.
NASA also said that the Axiom-4 mission is a historic achievement for countries like India, Poland, and Hungary, and understanding its importance, it is carrying out all the preparations carefully. Meanwhile, all the astronauts of the mission are in quarantine in Florida and will be ready for launch as soon as the station is ready.
Axiom-4 Mission:
Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will lead the mission, while Shubhanshu Shukla will be in the role of pilot. Poland’s Slavoj Uznanski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu are included in the team as mission specialists.
SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket and Dragon capsule will transport this four-member crew to the space station. The mission was initially scheduled to launch on May 29, but the launch had to be postponed multiple times due to a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 boosters and technical problems in the ISS’s old Russian module. It was later rescheduled for June 8, 10, 11, and finally June 19, respectively.
