Shubhanshu Shukla: NASA Confirms Ax-4 Mission Launch

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Ax-4 Mission Set for Launch: NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX Collaborate with ISRO for Historic ISS Mission

By TRH News Desk

NEW DELHI, June 24, 2025 – NASA, in partnership with Axiom Space and SpaceX, confirmed that the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, June 25, at 2:31 AM ET (0631 UTC) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, utilizing SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and a brand-new Crew Dragon spacecraft (C213), marks a historic milestone in international space collaboration.

It features a diverse crew that includes astronauts from the European Space Agency (ESA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Hungary’s HUNOR program. In a first, an ISRO astronaut will participate in a private mission to the ISS. This affirms India’s growing role in global space exploration.

The Ax-4 mission highlights the expanding scope of commercial spaceflight and international cooperation. The crew, led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, includes pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of ISRO, mission specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of ESA (Poland), and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. This diverse team symbolizes a new era of collaborative missions, bridging national space agencies and private industry. The crew will spend up to 14 days aboard the ISS, conducting over 60 scientific experiments, including seven from ISRO, focused on microgravity research, cognitive effects, microbial adaptation, muscle atrophy, and crop resilience.

India’s involvement in Ax-4 is a landmark achievement. It marks the country’s first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years and its first mission to the ISS. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a seasoned Indian Air Force pilot with over 2,000 hours of flying experience, will be the second Indian astronaut to travel to space, following Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 Soyuz mission. ISRO’s participation, costing 5 billion rupees ($59 million), is seen as a critical step in advancing India’s human spaceflight ambitions, particularly for its Gaganyaan program.

The BBC emphasized the mission’s broader impact, quoting ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan: “The benefit we will get from this mission is phenomenal in terms of the training, exposure to the facilities, and the experience of jointly conducting experiments in space.” It detailed Shukla’s rigorous training since August 2024, including physical and psychological assessments, and highlighted experiments like studying crop seeds and microalgae for future space exploration.

The Ax-4 launch faced delays due to a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket and a pressure issue in the ISS’s Zvezda module. SpaceX resolved the rocket issue with a successful wet dress rehearsal, while NASA confirmed the Zvezda module is now holding pressure after repairs. The crew, currently in quarantine, is ready for liftoff, with SpaceX and NASA coordinating closely to ensure mission safety.

During their two-week stay, the Ax-4 crew will conduct experiments from 31 countries, including student-designed projects from Brazil and Nigeria, marking a first for Nigerian students in microgravity research. The mission aims to advance knowledge in human physiology, material sciences, and space agriculture, with ISRO’s experiments focusing on sustainable space exploration. NASA’s ISS Program Manager Dana Weigel called Ax-4 a “phenomenal way” to expand research, while Axiom’s Allen Flynt emphasized its role in “redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit.”

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