Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is now targeting 2:31 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 25 (Noon IST) for liftoff, NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX confirmed on Monday.
The mission will launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a new Dragon spacecraft that will ferry the four-member crew to the orbiting laboratory. Docking is expected around 7:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, June 26.
The launch was originally slated for June 22 but was postponed to allow for additional assessments of recent repairs in the aft segment of the Zvezda service module aboard the ISS. NASA is reviewing operational data to ensure readiness for receiving additional crew members, given the station’s highly interconnected systems.
Highlighting the mission’s global importance, NASA noted the significance of this flight for India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation’s first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over four decades.
The Ax-4 crew includes:
- Commander: Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight
- Pilot: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of India (ISRO)
- Mission Specialist: Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland (ESA)
- Mission Specialist: Tibor Kapu from Hungary
The astronauts remain in quarantine in Florida and are ready to launch as soon as the ISS is cleared for their arrival. According to Axiom Space, this mission marks the first time astronauts from all three countries will fly together to the ISS, and it will be only the second commercial spaceflight mission composed of ESA and government-sponsored astronauts.
The Ax-4 mission also features the most extensive research agenda of any Axiom Space mission to date, with 60 science experiments and activities involving researchers from 31 countries, including India, the US, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, and several European nations.
Research areas will include human physiology, Earth observation, life sciences, biological and material sciences, all conducted in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit (LEO). The mission emphasizes the scientific contributions and aspirations of the participating nations, aiming to bolster international cooperation and innovation in space research.
Axiom Space described the mission as a “beacon of opportunity” that reflects the growing accessibility of space for nations expanding their human spaceflight programs and scientific ambitions.