Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to International Space Station delayed to 10 June

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to International Space Station delayed to 10 June

Axiom Space’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla along with three others, has been postponed to June 10 at 5:52 pm IST.  launch will be conducted on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Originally scheduled for May 29, the mission was first rescheduled to June 8 before being delayed again.

The announcement was made during a virtual press briefing with the Axiom-4 crew, who are currently in quarantine ahead of their trip to the ISS.

The #Ax4 crew is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on June 10 at 8:22 AM EDT from Launch Complex 39A at @NASAKennedy. Tune in for the launch broadcast starting at 6:15 AM EDT. pic.twitter.com/2ACocwFRSQ

Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) June 3, 2025

Shukla will be the second Indian astronaut to travel to space, nearly 40 years after Rakesh Sharma’s landmark journey aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.

Captain Shubhanshu Shukla belongs to India’s first-ever team of astronauts trained for space missions, with Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair serving as his backup.

Along with Shukla, who will be the pilot for the Axiom-4 mission, the crew includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. This mission will be the first time astronauts from Poland and Hungary travel to the International Space Station, and only the second time in over 40 years that their governments have sent people into space.

The mission, named Ax-4, is a collaborative effort involving Axiom Space, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It will be a historic milestone, as Shukla becomes the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station.

During their 14-day mission aboard the ISS, the Ax-4 astronauts will carry out around 60 scientific experiments and activities involving 31 countries.

Shukla is scheduled to lead unique food and nutrition experiments developed through a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with assistance from NASA.

These experiments aim to advance space nutrition and develop self-sustaining life support systems, which are crucial for future long-term space missions.

ISRO has prepared seven specific experiments for Shukla, who will also take part in five joint studies organized by NASA as part of its human research program.

Among the India-focused research, Shukla will conduct experiments on growing traditional crops like methi (fenugreek) and moong (green gram) in microgravity conditions aboard the ISS.