Axiom-4 mission launch date and time: Countdown begins for ISS journey for Shubhanshu Shukla and 3 other crews

Axiom Mission 4—also known as Ax‑4—is officially scheduled to launch on June 11, 2025. It’ll blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Launch Complex 39A, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.

The crew will ride inside the brand‑new Crew Dragon capsule C213—this beast’s maiden voyage into orbit.Mark your calendars early—liftoff is set for 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, which translates to 12:00 UTC on that Wednesday. For us in India, that’s 5:30 p.m. IST, and in Central Europe, it's roughly 2:00 p.m. CET. There’s also a backup window on June 12 at 7:37 a.m. ET, but fingers crossed the weather plays along so they can stick with the 11th.

Why the date shift?

Originally, Ax‑4 was aiming for June 10, but Mother Nature had other plans—stormy forecasts forced a delay. That postponed launch gave NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX extra time for that all‑important L‑8‑hour weather briefing before the ultimate go‑no‑go call. Still, odds are in the mission’s favor—forecasters pegged an 80 % chance of good weather for Wednesday.

The crew: Dream team of four

Ax‑4’s crew is a globe‑trotting quartet:Commander Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and Axiom’s human‑spaceflight director—so yeah, total boss vibes.

Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, a Group Captain from India’s Air Force, on track to be the first Indian at the ISS and second Indian in spaceMission Specialist Sławosz Uznański‑Wiśniewski from Poland.Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

Mission highlights (Just in case you’re counting)

Duration: 14 to 21 days aboard the ISS, including scientific experiments, earth monitoring, and education outreach.Docking: Expected roughly 28 hours post‑launch, around midday UTC—plans are to hook up at the ISS around 12:30 p.m. ET on June 12.Splashdown: After wrapping up, Dragon will return and splash down off the US Pacific coast. Exact date TBD—weather dependent.