Latest news with #Ax4
India.com
3 days ago
- Science
- India.com
Axiom-4 Mission Rescheduled For Launch On June 22
Axiom Space has announced that the next probable launch date of Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, is June 22, the Indian Space Research Organisation said. In a post on X, ISRO said, "Based on the readiness status of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, the Dragon spacecraft, repairs in the Zvezda module of the International Space Station, ascent corridor weather conditions, and the health and preparedness of the crew in quarantine, Axiom Space has informed that the next probable launch date is 22 June 2025." Additonally, Axiom Space informed that the Ax-4 crew, comprising Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, as commander, ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla as pilot, and mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, remains in quarantine in Florida, to maintain all medical and safety protocols. "The #Ax4 crew remains in quarantine in Florida to maintain all medical and safety protocols. The crew is in good health and high spirits and looks forward to launch!" Axiom posted on X. The Ax-4 mission will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The crew of Ax-4 consists of individuals from India, Poland, and Hungary, representing the first time each country has sent a mission to the space station, and it is also the second government-backed human spaceflight endeavor in more than 40 years, as stated by Axiom Space. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become India's second national astronaut to travel to space since 1984. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is part of Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4), marking a historic moment for India's space collaboration with NASA. As stated by Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will "realize the return" to human space travel for India, Poland, and Hungary, signifying that it's the first government-sponsored flight for each nation in over four decades.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 Mission Eyes This Launch Date After 6 Delays
The Axiom-4 Mission, set to carry Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to space, has been delayed, again. The four-member international crew is likely to fly to space on June 22. This is the sixth delay in lift-off, owing to weather and technical problems on the Falcon 9 rocket. "SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Sunday, June 22 for Falcon 9's launch of Axiom Space's Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for 3:42 am ET (1:12 pm IST), with a backup opportunity available on Monday, June 23 at 3:20 am ET (12:50 pm IST)," SpaceX said in a statement. The latest postponement provides NASA time to continue evaluating space station operations following recent repair work. Sharing the update on social media, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that teams from ISRO, Poland and Hungary had detailed discussion with Axiom Space after which Axiom consulted NASA and SpaceX and delayed the lift-off. Teams from @isro, Poland, and Hungary engaged in a detailed discussion with @Axiom_Space regarding the probable launch timeline of Axiom Mission 4. Following this, @Axiom_Space held consultations with @NASA and @SpaceX to assess multiple readiness parameters. Based on the… — ISRO (@isro) June 18, 2025 "Being on Earth a little longer than planned means that I get to see my family one more time (even if it's only from across the street)," Peggy Whitson, Mission Commander, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Being on Earth a little longer than planned means that I get to see my family one more time (even if it's only from across the street)! #Ax4 — Peggy Whitson (@AstroPeggy) June 17, 2025 The crew, which has been in quarantine since May 14, continues to be in Florida to "maintain all medical and safety protocols". "The crew is in good health and high spirits and looks forward to launch," Axiom Space shared in a post on X. The #Ax4 crew remains in quarantine in Florida to maintain all medical and safety protocols. The crew is in good health and high spirits and looks forward to launch! — Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) June 18, 2025 The window for the lift-off is open till June 30. But if, for some reason, the deadline is missed, another opportunity will present itself in mid-July. Previous Setbacks To Axiom Mission 4 Safety is of utmost importance when it comes to human space travel. Therefore, all checks are being done before the crew leaves for a 14-day mission to space. The mission was initially set for May 29, after which it was postponed to June 8, then delayed to June 10, later to June 11, 12 and 19. Initially, the delay was attributed to weather reasons. Later, the Falcon-9 rocket developed a liquid oxygen leak. The leak, pointed out by the ISRO, was repaired by SpaceX and Axiom. Then, an issue on the Russian module at the International Space Station was reported. SpaceX and Axiom continue to monitor it, hence the latest delay. Peggy Whitson said, " Setbacks and delays are a normal part of spaceflight." "Our Ax-4 crew remains upbeat and looking forward to a safe and successful flight to the Space Station," she wrote on X on June 11. Setbacks and delays are a normal part of spaceflight. Our Ax-4 crew remains upbeat and looking forward to a safe and successful flight to the Space Station! — Peggy Whitson (@AstroPeggy) June 11, 2025 Axiom Mission 4 Axiom Mission 4 is a planned private spaceflight to the International Space Station operated by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA. Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission. ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot, making him the second Indian to go to space, nearly four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made history in 1984. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Science
- India Gazette
Axiom-4 mission rescheduled launch to June 22
New Delhi [India], June 18 (ANI): The launch of Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, has been rescheduled to no earlier than Sunday, June 22. The change in the targeted launch date allows NASA to continue evaluating space station operations after recent repair work in the aft segment of the Station's Zvezda service module. In a post on X, Axiom Space informed that the Ax-4 crew, comprising Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, as commander, ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla as pilot, and mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, remains in quarantine in Florida, to maintain all medical and safety protocols. 'The #Ax4 crew remains in quarantine in Florida to maintain all medical and safety protocols. The crew is in good health and high spirits and looks forward to launch!' Axiom posted. The Ax-4 mission will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Despite the delay, the Axiom-4 mission remains significant. The Ax-4 crew includes members from India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first mission to the space station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years, according to Axiom Space. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be India's second national astronaut to go to space since 1984. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is part of Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4), marking a historic moment for India's space collaboration with NASA. According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will 'realise the return' to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. (ANI)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX, NASA target June 19 for launch of private Ax-4 astronauts after ISS leak repairs
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Axiom Space's next astronaut launch is back on the board, at least for now. That mission, Ax-4, is Axiom's fourth crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS). It was slated to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 11, but a liquid oxygen leak discovered in the booster delayed things by a day. That was followed by the detection of another leak, but this time at Ax-4's orbital destination. Cosmonauts aboard the ISS recently spotted a "new pressure signature" in Zvezda, the Russian service module at the aftmost end of the space station. Zvezda has been leaky for a while, but this change in pressure prompted another delay in the Ax-4 launch out of an abundance of caution. That delay, which NASA and Axiom announced on June 12, was indefinite; no new target date was identified. Zvezda first sprang a leak in 2019, and the module has been managed periodically with pressure checks and maintained with whatever is the space equivalent of Flex Tape. Now, it seems the appropriate repairs have been effectuated, and NASA's worry about the potential risk to incoming crew has subsided enough for the agency and Axiom to announce a new tentative launch date — this Thursday (June 19). "Following the most-recent repair, pressure in the transfer tunnel has been stable. Previously, pressure in this area would have dropped. This could indicate the small leaks have been sealed," NASA wrote in a June 14 update. However, the space agency isn't taking the initial results as definitive. "Teams are also considering the stable pressure could be the result of a small amount of air flowing into the transfer tunnel across the hatch seal from the main part of space station," officials wrote in the update. "By changing pressure in the transfer tunnel and monitoring over time, teams are evaluating the condition of the transfer tunnel and the hatch seal between the space station and the back of Zvezda." The fixes to the leaky Falcon 9 first stage, on the other hand, are more definitive. That booster, designated B1094, is one of the newer ones in SpaceX's fleet, with only one previous launch under its belt. The rocket stage supported the Starlink 12-10 mission at the end of April, and apparently showed signs of a leak during that flight as well. SpaceX's vice president of build and flight reliability, Bill Gerstenmaier, told reporters during a June 9 press conference that technicians "discovered that we had not fully repaired the booster during refurbishment — or we didn't, actually, didn't find the leak and didn't get it corrected." But the repairs are complete now. SpaceX announced on June 12 that it has completed a new "wet dress rehearsal," or fueling test, with the rocket, and the launch vehicle is ready for the Ax-4 liftoff. Related stories: — Axiom Space: Building the off-Earth economy — International Space Station: Everything you need to know about the orbital laboratory — Top 'safety risk' for the ISS is a leak that has been ongoing for 5 years, NASA audit finds Now, mission operators and crew are working toward an early morning June 19 liftoff. Launch is scheduled for 4:53 a.m. EDT (0853 GMT), from Launch Complex-39A, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon atop the Falcon 9, Axiom's director of human spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will serve as mission commander for Ax-4. The other three crew members are Shubhanshu Shukla of India, serving as mission pilot, and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu, from Poland and Hungary, respectfully, both serving as mission specialists. It will be the first time astronauts from India, Poland or Hungary have ever visited the ISS, and their mission will bring more research experiments to the ISS than any previous Axiom flight, totaling more than 60 science investigations and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach events.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
ISS leaks 'small'; 'not uncommon' to delay launch: Nasa
ISS leaks 'small'; 'not uncommon' to delay launch: Nasa BENGALURU: Nasa , which, along with Axiom Space, delayed the launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax4) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) owing to leaks in a Russian service module of the ISS earlier this week, has categorised the same as 'small'. The US space agency is continuing to work with Roscosmos (Russian space agency) 'to understand the most recent repair efforts to seal small leaks'. The leaks located in the aft segment of the station's Zvezda service module have been monitored by flight controllers for several years, Nasa said. 'Recent repair efforts by Roscosmos appear to have stabilised pressure in the transfer tunnel, though teams are still evaluating whether the leaks have been fully sealed or if air is flowing into the area from the main station,' it said. Nasa and Axiom, on June 12, delayed Ax4 4 to allow time for the ongoing assessment of the repair work. The agency said, 'It is not uncommon to adjust launch schedules around operational changes aboard the space station', adding that they are now looking at a June 19 launch possibility. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Invest in SALIK shares today and be part of the city's growth سالك Learn More Undo '...Teams are making progress evaluating the transfer tunnel configuration, resulting in an updated launch opportunity for the private astronaut mission,' Nasa said. In addition, the agency also confirmed that Elon Musk's SpaceX has completed repairs to address the liquid oxygen (LOX) leak identified during the post-static fire inspections of the Falcon-9 rocket last week. The company has since conducted a wet dress rehearsal of the rocket. Isro, which had Saturday said the Ax-4 launch may happen on June 19, also said: 'Observations on Falcon-9 liquid oxygen leak have been resolved by SpaceX. Axiom Space is coordinating with Nasa on the International Space Station's Zvezda module anomaly. The earliest possible launch date for Ax4 is being worked out.' Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday, reiterating the government's efforts to boost space and other critical sectors, said: '...Axiom mission has a lot of components from the department of biotechnology and Shukla will conduct exclusive experiments. Axiom has conveyed that all the issues that led to the delay has been addressed.' The Ax-4 mission, which will be commanded by US' Peggy Whitson and piloted by India's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla , marks the return to space for Shukla and two other crew members of the mission, ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The crew will launch aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. So far, there have been at least four postponements of the launch date — not very uncommon for crewed missions, going by previous missions carried out, before Nasa and Axiom announced the ISS leak causing the latest postponement.
