Axiom-4 Mission postponed due to air leak at International Space Station

NASA and Axiom Space have announced the postponement of the Axiom-4 Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) due to an air leak in the Russian compartment of ISS. The leak was detected in the Zvezda service module, which provides essential systems for the station’s operation.

According to NASA, the agency is working closely with Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, to investigate the issue. “As part of an ongoing investigation, NASA is collaborating with Roscosmos to understand a new pressure signature in the aft-most segment of the ISS’ Zvezda service module,” NASA stated.

Recently, cosmonauts on board the ISS conducted inspections of the module’s interior surfaces, sealed additional areas of interest, and measured the current leak rate. Following this effort, the segment is now holding pressure.

The postponement of Axiom Mission 4 allows NASA and Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine if further troubleshooting is necessary. A new launch date for the mission will be provided once available.

The Axiom Mission 4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission specialists are Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

The Zvezda service module has been a critical component of the ISS since its launch and has provided essential living quarters, life support systems, and propulsion systems. The air leak in the module was first detected in 2019 and has been a concern ever since.