NASA, ISRO to launch private mission to space with Indian pilot on June 10

Washington DC [US], June 8 (ANI): National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Saturday (local time)said that as part of a collaboration with ISRO, Axiom Mission 4 will be launched on June 10, the fourth private astronaut mission from Axiom Space, which will be piloted by Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla.

Axiom Mission 4 delivers on a commitment highlighted by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO astronaut to the station.

The space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations. NASA and ISRO have a long-standing relationship built on a shared vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration, a statement by NASA said.

NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting 8:22 am (local time), Tuesday, June 10, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4.

The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30pm, Wednesday (local time), June 11, as per NASA.

NASA's mission responsibility is for integrated operations, which begins during the spacecraft's approach to the space station, continues during the crew's approximately two-week stay aboard the orbiting laboratory while conducting science, education, and commercial activities, and concludes once the spacecraft exits the station.

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

The private mission also carries the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the space station.

In a post on X, the International Space Station said, "Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission from Axiom Space, is targeted to launch at 8:22am ET, Tuesday, June 10, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center to the orbital outpost." (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)