After several delays, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is likely to fly to the International Space Station on June 19, the Indian Space Research Organisation said in an update.
Five times the mission has been postponed, some attributed to weather issues, at least one because of a leak of liquid oxygen detected on the Falcon-9 rocket and another because of a glitch at the International Space Station, where the astronauts would spend 14 days.
The mission was initially set for May 29, after which it was postponed to June 8, then delayed to June 10, later to June 11 and on June 12, a glitch at the space station postponed the mission. Now, ISRO has announced the new date, Thursday, June 19. Incidentally, neither NASA Space Operations, SpaceX, nor Axiom Space have announced the new date.
ISRO, in a statement, said, "During a follow-on coordination meeting between ISRO, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, it was confirmed that the liquid oxygen leak observed in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle has been successfully resolved. Separately, Axiom Space informed that they are working closely with NASA to assess the pressure anomaly in the Zvezda Service Module on board the International Space Station. Axiom Space is now targeting June 19, 2025, for the launch of the Ax-04 mission."
On Thursday, SpaceX reported technical glitches on the Falcon-9 rocket after a leak of liquid oxygen was detected during a static test done as the vehicle stood tall on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
ISRO intervened and sought a "validation" of the repairs. The rocket is now ready for a lift off to the space station, where the astronauts will spend 14 days.
On the earlier postponement, Dr V Narayanan, Chairman, ISRO, told NDTV, "It is a good decision to postpone the mission as human crew were involved and safety was paramount."
Axiom-4 Mission
The Axiom-4 mission, operated by Houston-based Axiom Space in partnership with NASA, is a commercial venture where India has purchased a seat for an Indian astronaut for Rs 550 crores.
The Axiom-4 mission, sometimes called Mission Akash Ganga, will carry a four-member international crew aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft flying on a Falcon-9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew includes Dr Peggy Whitson from the United States as mission commander, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, both serving as mission specialists. Group Captain Shukla is the designated pilot for this mission.
Dr Whitson is a 64-year-old biochemist and former NASA astronaut, and is the most experienced American astronaut with 675 days in space. Her extensive experience includes 10 spacewalks totalling over 60 hours, and she serves as Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space. Her leadership is expected to provide invaluable mentorship to Shukla during the mission.
On the fortnight-long mission, the crew will conduct 60 scientific experiments, of which seven are proposed by Indian researchers.
Group Captain Shukla will also participate in a space-to-Earth outreach program and interact with a VIP from space. Seven crew members are already at the ISS.
If Group Captain Shukla does travel to space, he will become India's second astronaut or Gaganyatri after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who went to space as part of an Indo-Soviet friendship mission to the Russian space station in 1984.
Group Captain Shukla is currently in quarantine and is healthy to travel on this maiden mission to the International Space Station as an Indian.
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