After fourth delay, Axiom Mission to get new launch date; ISRO says safety top-priority
The launch of
Axiom
Mission-04 (Ax-04), carrying India's second astronaut,
Shubhanshu Shukla
, along with three other members, to the
International Space Station
(ISS) was postponed multiple times due to technical issues and safety reviews this week. The
Indian Space Research Organisation
(
ISRO
) on Friday said the revised launch schedule will be announced by NASA and Axiom after the activities and technical reviews are satisfactorily completed.
So far, the launch has been postponed four times due to issues in the electrical harness in the Crew Dragon module, unpreparedness of the
Falcon 9
-- the launch vehicle, weather conditions and the oxygen leakage in the engine bay of the ISS, being the latest. The Indian space agency said its delegation recommended carrying out in-situ repairs or replacement and conducting a low-temperature leak test to validate system performance and integrity, before proceeding with launch clearance.
'ISRO is working closely with Axiom Space, NASA and
SpaceX
as they responsibly address the ISS Zvezda module observation causing the Ax‑4 delay. Safety and mission integrity remain our top priorities,' V Narayanan, chairman, ISRO, said in a statement on Friday.
The success of Ax-4 is critical for India to provide hands-on experience in spaceflight operations, launch protocols, microgravity experiments, and emergency preparedness. ISRO is counting on Shukla's insights to prepare for the highly anticipated
Ganganyaan mission
, during which a crew of three members will be launched to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission. Following the first human spaceflight mission from India, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station will be built. India paid Rs 550 crore for a seat on the Ax-4 mission to understand the technicalities of operating such a mission on its own.
Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, after the postponement of the mission, has again voiced concerns about the ISS. 'There are potentially serious concerns about the long-term safety of the @Space_Station (ISS). Some parts of it are simply getting too old and obviously that risk grows over time,' he wrote on X.
The billionaire added that though his firm SpaceX earns billions of dollars from transporting astronauts and cargo to the ISS, 'I nonetheless would like to go on record recommending that it be deorbited within 2 years.'
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The construction of Zarya, the firstcontrol module of the ISS, started in November 1998 and was completed in 2011. Zvezda, on which the oxygen leakage was found, is the third module to have docked with the Zarya module on July 25, 2000.
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