Axiom-4 mission to ISS delayed, SpaceX cites liquid oxygen leak

The Ax-4 mission, operated by Axiom Space, is set to be the first fully commercial human spaceflight to the ISS with Indian participation.

The Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla among its four-member crew, has been temporarily postponed due to a technical snag in the launch vehicle, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX confirmed the delay early Wednesday morning, citing the need for additional time to repair a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak detected during post-static fire booster inspections. The issue was identified after routine checks following a static fire test, a standard procedure before every launch.

Taking to microblogging site X, the company announced, “Standing down from tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the @Space_Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post static fire booster inspections".

Standing down from tomorrows Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the @Space_Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post static fire booster inspections. Once complete and pending Range availability we will share a new launch date pic.twitter.com/FwRc8k2Bc0

SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 11, 2025

SpaceX added that once the repair is complete and range availability is confirmed, a new launch date will be announced.

The Ax-4 mission, operated by Axiom Space, is set to be the first fully commercial human spaceflight to the ISS with Indian participation.

The mission aims to carry out microgravity experiments and international outreach, with crew members representing multiple countries.