NASA Axiom-4 With Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Launch Delays Again For The Sixth Time
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX have postponed the Axiom-4 mission—carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla—to the International Space Station for the sixth time, standing down from the June 22 launch as additional safety reviews of the station’s Zvezda service module continue.
Officials said follow-up inspections are underway after cosmonauts sealed a pressure leak in the Russian-built Zvezda module. NASA emphasised this pause is precautionary, with no crew onboard the ISS at risk, and that ISS systems must be fully certified before new crew arrive.
Originally slated for May 29, the mission has faced repeated delays due to a Falcon 9 liquid‑oxygen leak, bad weather, rocket issues, and ISS module concerns.
The four-person crew—commander Peggy Whitson (USA), pilot Shukla (India), mission specialists Sławosz Uznański‑Wiśniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary)—remains healthy and quarantined in Florida, awaiting a new launch window.
Shukla’s participation marks a historic milestone: he would be the second Indian to reach space since Rakesh Sharma in 1984, representing India aboard a private astronaut mission alongside Poland and Hungary.
Axiom-4 represents the fourth commercial astronaut mission to the ISS under NASA’s partnership with Axiom Space and SpaceX. The mission includes multiple research experiments, with Shukla set to conduct ISRO‑led scientific studies on microbial life, muscle physiology, and food crops in microgravity.
