Shubhanshu Shukla’s space travel gets delayed again, Axiom-4 launch postponed to June 22

The Axiom-4 mission to space, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, has been delayed once again, with the launch now scheduled for June 22, instead of June 19.

The mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed for the third time now. “The change in a targeted launch date provides NASA time to continue evaluating space station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the International Space Station’s Evezda service module,” Axiom has said in a statement.

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Last week, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Shukla, along with his four crew members, will fly off to space on June 19 after SpaceX successfully resolved the liquid oxygen leak in its Falcon-9 rocket that caused the initial delay.

About the mission

The Ax-4 crew includes astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary — each representing their country’s first mission to the space station. According to Axiom Space, it also marks the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years.

Shukla will be the second Indian astronaut to fly to space since 1984 after Rakesh Sharma. He is part of Axiom Space’s fourth private space mission, marking a significant moment for India’s space exploration in collaboration with Nasa.

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Shukla will conduct seven experiments in space that are aimed at encouraging microgravity research in India, which hopes to build its space station by 2035 and send astronauts to the moon by 2047.

The Ax-4 crew will spend 14 days orbiting the laboratory.

NASA has previously overseen three private astronaut missions to the ISS. Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) took place in April 2022, lasting 17 days. Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) followed in May 2023, with four private astronauts spending eight days in orbit. The most recent mission, Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), launched in January 2024, with its crew staying aboard the ISS for 18 days.