Axiom-4 delayed sixth time, no new date given

The Axiom-4 mission that was to carry Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday has been delayed for the sixth time, with no new date being announced this time.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that it required additional time to evaluate operations on the orbital lab after the recent repairs in its Russian section.

“NASA has decided to stand down from the launch on Sunday and will target a new launch date in the coming days. The space agency needs additional time to continue evaluating the ISS after the recent repairs in the orbital laboratory’s Zvezda service module. Because of the space station’s interconnected and interdependent systems, NASA wants to ensure the station is ready for additional crew members. The agency is taking time necessary to review data,” NASA said in a statement.

The mission crew remains in quarantine in Florida and the astronauts stand ready to launch when the station is ready to receive them.

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are European Space Agency project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

“SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remain healthy on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida,” NASA said.

Moreover, an explosion rocked SpaceX testing site at Massey, Texas, on Thursday, halting preparations for the next Starship launch.