NASA has once again postponed the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla among its four-member crew.
The mission, originally scheduled for takeoff on June 22, has been delayed, with a new date to be announced in the coming days, according to an official ISS X account's post on Friday morning.
“NASA has made the decision to stand down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days,” Axiom Space said in a statement on Thursday.
The delay comes as NASA continues to evaluate the ISS following recent repair work in the aft section of the Zvezda service module. The agency stated that more time is needed to assess station operations and ensure it is prepared for additional crew members, given the complex and interconnected nature of its systems.
Axiom-4 mission
The Axiom-4 mission to the ISS will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, with Shubhanshu Shukla as the pilot. Mission specialists include Slawosz Uznanski from the European Space Agency and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
The crew will travel to the space in the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. The mission was originally set to launch on May 29, but it faced multiple delays due to various reasons like a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 boosters and issues with the aging Russian module on the ISS. It was subsequently postponed to June 8, then June 10, June 11, and to June 19.
During their 14-day stay in space, the crew will conduct approximately 60 experiments, covering areas such as life sciences, technology demonstrations, and diabetes research.
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