Axiom-4 mission: Shubhanshu Shukla to dock at ISS today after completing orbital journey

The Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian Air Force Group Captain and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, is set to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday. The crew launched into space on June 25 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft after nearly a month of delays.

The Falcon-9 rocket carrying the Dragon capsule lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the ISS on June 26, marking the start of a 14-day mission.

Alongside Shukla, who is the mission’s designated pilot, the Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson from the US, and mission specialists Sawosz Uznaski-Winiewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

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Axiom-4 to dock today

According to NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS at around 7 AM EST (4:30 PM IST).

“The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 26,” NASA said.

Shukla, known as “Shux” among his team, will play a crucial role during the docking. As the mission pilot, he will monitor the spacecraft’s trajectory, orbital data, and ISS movements during the approach.

After docking, the crew will begin their mission, which includes around 60 microgravity experiments. Shukla is expected to lead about seven of these.

NASA added that it will collaborate with ISRO on “five joint science investigations and two in-orbit demonstrations related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).”

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