After multiple delays, Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission is set to launch today

After several delays, NASA has confirmed that the Axiom-4 mission will launch on Wednesday. The mission includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts.

The launch is scheduled for around noon IST from Kennedy Space Centre’s Complex 39A. After a 28-hour journey, the spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) at around 4:30 pm IST on Thursday. The crew will spend about 14 days on the ISS.

The new launch date was announced on Tuesday, just a day before liftoff. The mission was initially planned for May 29 but faced repeated delays due to technical issues, including a leak in the ISS’s Russian-built Zvezda module. That leak, first detected in 2019, had been under repair for years and was fixed ahead of the Axiom-4 launch.

NASA had earlier said the delay in the June 22 launch was due to safety checks. “Because of the station’s interconnected systems, NASA wants to ensure it’s ready for more crew members,” the agency explained.

More from World

Axiom 4 mission: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla becomes first Indian onboard ISS Axiom-4 mission: How space will affect Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, others

An Indian official added that after fixing the leak, a full system check was needed to ensure nothing else was affected, which led to the final delay.

The four astronauts — Peggy Whitson (US), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), Tibor Kapu (Hungary), and Shukla — have been in quarantine since mid-May to prevent any infections that could pose risks during the mission or in space.