International Space Station leak investigation prompts delay in Axiom Space crew launch
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Axiom Space's fourth private crew to the International Space Station is awaiting a new launch date as Nasa and Roscosmos investigate a leak on one of the station's modules.
The Axiom Mission 4 crew, commanded by Axiom Space's director of human spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, was set to launch Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but a leak with SpaceX's rocket at the space station has delayed the private mission.
On Thursday, NASA said the Ax-4 launch was postponed as part of an ongoing investigation to understand a "new pressure signature, after the recent post-repair effort" on the space station's Zvezda service module.
"Cosmonauts aboard the space station recently performed inspections of the pressurized module's interior surfaces, sealed some additional areas of interest, and measured the current leak rate," NASA said. "Following this effort, the segment now is holding pressure."
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The space agency said pushing the launch will provide more time for NASA and Rosmoscos to evaluate the situation and determine if any additional fixes are needed.
The AX-4 crew includes Indian Space Research Organization astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, European Space Agency project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, of Hungary.
The ISS leak investigation comes as SpaceX looks into a different leak on the ground with the Falcon 9 rocket.
On Tuesday, SpaceX said it was standing down from a launch attempt Wednesday because of a liquid oxygen (Lox) leak discovered during a post-static fire booster inspection.
This will be the first flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the second launch for the Falcon 9 first stage booster. SpaceX often launches and reuses its booster more than a dozen times.
A new launch date has not been announced.Original article source: International Space Station leak investigation prompts delay in Axiom Space crew launch
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