Launch Of Axiom-4 Mission Carrying India's Shubhanshu Shukla On June 19: ISRO

Last Updated:June 14, 2025, 12:10 IST

The Axiom-4 space mission, launching on June 19, will take four astronauts, including Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, to the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9.

NASA’s Axiom-4 mission will “realize the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight after over 40 years. (Image: X/@NASASpaceOps)

After several delays, the Axiom Space is now targetting to launch the ‘Axiom-4’ space mission on June 19, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 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 onboard the International Space Station. Axiom Space is now targeting June 19, 2025 for the launch of the Ax-04 mission," a statement by the ISRO read.

The space mission named will take four astronauts, including Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, to the space on board SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket. The spaceflight was earlier expected to launch on June 10 but bad weather prompted space agency to delay it by a day. According to the details, the mission was postponed after engineers sought more time to repair a leak in SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket.

Space Mission To Carry 4 Astronauts To ISS

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 Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

With this space odyssey, Shubhanshu Shukla will register his name in history for being the second Indian to go to space after Rakesh Sharma. According to NASA, this will be the fourth private astronaut mission.

Annocing the postment earlier this week, the NASA had said, “NASA and Axiom Space are postponing the launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station. As part of an ongoing investigation, NASA is working with Roscosmos to understand a new pressure signature, after the recent post-repair effort in the aft most segment of the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module."

All About Axiom-4 Mission

NASA’s Axiom-4 mission will “realize the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight after over 40 years. While Axiom-4 marks these countries’ second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the ISS. The four crew members will be led by Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Peggy Whitson while Shukla will serve as the pilot in the mission.

This historic mission highlights how Axiom Space is redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit and elevating national space programs globally. The space crew will carry out around 60 experiments during their 14-day stay in space, ranging from life science to technology demonstrations to diabetes research.

So far the mission has been deferred five times. Indian Air Force Group Captain Shukla (39) — picked by ISRO as the prime astronaut — is currently in pre-launch quarantine which is a standard protocol to protect astronauts from potential infections before the launch.

Manisha Roy

Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18...Read More

Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18...

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News world Launch Of Axiom-4 Mission Carrying India's Shubhanshu Shukla On June 19: ISRO