Context:
The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS), has been postponed by SpaceX due to a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak detected during post-static fire inspections of the Falcon 9 booster.
Key Details:
- The mission was scheduled to launch on June 11, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- The crew includes India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, alongside:
- Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut (Mission Commander)
- Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, ESA astronaut from Poland
- Tibor Kapu, ESA astronaut from Hungary
Significance for India
- This mission marks the first time an Indian astronaut will fly to the ISS under the Axiom Space mission program, in collaboration with ISRO, NASA, and SpaceX.
- Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, referred to as the first Indian “Gaganyatri” to the ISS, is set to pave the way for future Indian human spaceflight missions.
