Axiom-4 launch for sending 1st Indian Gaganyatri to ISS postponed for 4th time

ISRO chairman V Narayanan said it is understood that a leakage was detected in the propulsion bay during a seven-second hot test on the launch pad as part of launch vehicle preparation

Updated on: Jun 11, 2025, 09:04:03 IST

By Snehal Fernandes

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The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, which was due to carry Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday evening, has been postponed for a fourth time due to the detection of a leak and the need for a validation test.

SpaceX said it was standing down from the Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to allow additional time to repair the leak identified. (NASA)

The mission of Texas-based Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA will carry a four-member crew from India, Hungary, Poland, and the US for a two-week mission. It will be the first human space flight carrying an Indian, a Hungarian, and a Pole after over 40 years.

The mission, also comprising commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański and Tibor Kapu, was initially scheduled to take place on May 29. It was postponed to June 8 and then rescheduled again. The mission’s lift off on June 10 was pushed by a day due to weather conditions, specifically high winds in the ascent corridor.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman V Narayanan said it is understood that a leakage was detected in the propulsion bay during a seven-second hot test on the launch pad as part of launch vehicle preparation to validate the performance of the booster stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. In a post on X, he cited a discussion of an ISRO team with the experts of Axiom and SpaceX. He said it was decided to correct the leak and carry out the necessary validation test before clearing for the launch. “Hence, the launch of Axiom 04, slated for 11th June 2025 for sending the first Indian Gaganyatri to the ISS is postponed.”

SpaceX said it was standing down from the Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to allow additional time to repair the leak identified during post-static fire booster inspections. “Once complete – and pending Range availability – we will share a new launch date.”

A NASA statement said a new launch date for the fourth private astronaut mission will be provided once repair work is complete, pending range availability.

At a virtual press conference on May 20, Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX, said, “We added a week after some findings. For instance, the parachutes did not pass the impact test since there was moisture in the bag. So we had to replace the bags. Similarly, we had to replace a wire harness.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Snehal Fernandes
Snehal Fernandes is senior associate editor, who joined HT in 2006. She heads the Mumbai edition’s city reporting team that writes on civic and urban governance, transport and infrastructure, health, and education. She is also the National Science Editor. With a career spanning more than two decades, her expertise lies in writing on science and technology, space, environment, sustainable development, climate change, and nuclear energy. Her work consistently breaks down, and without oversimplyfying, science and research developments into an easy read for a broad audience. In 2009, she was among the very first journalist to report on the opposition to the Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Ratnagiri (Konkan) following the Indo- US civil nuclear agreement and consistently followed it with multiple stories from ground zero; wrote about the introduction and subsequent halt to the cultivation of genetically modified (BT) brinjal, and has interviewed Nobel laureates and award winning scientists. In 2012, she was awarded ‘The Press Club Award for Excellence in Journalism’ (Political category) for reports on the mining scam in Goa. Prior to HT, she wrote on education and transport at the Indian Express. She graduated in sociology from St Xavier's College, and firmly believes in the phrase by Karl Marx that ‘Religion is the opium of the people’. When she is not keeping a tab on the going-ons in Mumbai and the scientific world, you'll find her reading world news, or watching crime/espionage series or political dramas. She can repeatedly watch Kill Bill with the same interest as Planet of the Apes and Spiderman. For someone who was not remotely interested in dogs or cats, she loves every bit of her time with her two-year-old Indie cat Bunny.Read More

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