India’s ISS dream on hold, bad weather delays Axiom-4 launch

The launch of Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed to June 11 due to weather conditions, the ISRO said on Monday. Originally scheduled for June 10, the mission’s backup date was already set as June 11 by Axiom Space.

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Dr V Narayanan, Chairman, ISRO, said, “Due to weather conditions, the Axiom-4 Mission launching Indian astronaut to the ISS is rescheduled from June 10 to June 11 with a targeted launch time of 5.30 pm IST.”

With its launch, India will once again make its mark in human spaceflight after 41 years. Group Capt Shukla will be the country’s second astronaut to venture into space. He will also create history as the first Indian to visit and conduct research aboard the ISS.

The mission crew will launch aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, with Shukla serving as mission pilot on the Axiom-4. He will be joined by commander Peggy Whitson (US, former NASA astronaut), mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA) and mission specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungary/ESA).

Ahead of the launch, the crew completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities. The Axiom-4 mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. During their 14-day stay, the astronauts will conduct microgravity research, technology demonstrations and outreach events.

Shukla’s participation underscores India’s growing ambitions in space exploration. His experience will be crucial for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission, with insights from microgravity adaptation and ISS experiments aiding the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The agency has spent Rs 550 crore in collaboration with Axiom Space to conduct research aboard the ISS.

The Axiom-4 mission features around 60 scientific studies and activities involving 31 countries, including the US, India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the UAE and multiple European nations.

In a statement, Axiom said, “This mission will host the most research-related activities conducted on an Axiom mission to date, underscoring its global significance and collaborative approach to advancing microgravity research in low-Earth orbit. The mission emphasises scientific contributions from the US, India, Poland and Hungary, aiming to expand participation by engaging diverse stakeholders and promoting international cooperation in space research.”

India will conduct several experiments, some in partnership with NASA. These experiments, developed through a collaboration between ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with NASA’s support, focus on pioneering space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems essential for long-duration space travel. One key experiment will examine the effects of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae, a nutrient-rich food source. Researchers will analyse growth parameters and changes in transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of algal species in space compared to Earth.

This mission marks the fourth Axiom flight to the ISS and the first such venture for India, Hungary and Poland. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the mission was a proud global recognition of India’s space capabilities and a tribute to the nation’s space pioneers Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan.