Unfavourable weather: Axiom-4 lift-off pushed back, set for tomorrow

Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian Gaganyatri, delayed to June 11 due to weather. This marks the third postponement for the historic launch.

Less than 24 hours before the Axiom-4 (Ax-4 mission) carrying Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on board a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was set to take off to the International Space Station (ISS), it was pushed back by another day.

Axiom-4 astronauts, commander Peggy Whitson of U.S., pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, mission specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary, are pictured on the countdown video clock, as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Launch Complex 39-A after a delay of its mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. (REUTERS)

“Due to weather conditions, the launch of Axiom-4 mission for sending Indian Gaganyatri to International Space Station is postponed from 10th June 2025 to 11th June 2025. The targeted time of launch is 5:30 PM IST on 11th June 2025,” Isro chairman V Narayanan posted on X.

SpaceX posted, “Now targeting no earlier than Wednesday, June 11 for Falcon 9 to launch @Axiom_Space’s Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station due to high winds in the ascent corridor.”

Ax-4 mission is a collaborative effort between Texas-based Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA. The mission will send a four-member international crew from India, Hungary, Poland and the US to ISS for a two-week mission, marking the return of the first human spaceflight for the former three countries after more than 40 years.

According to a statement on Spacex’s website, the launch is targeted for 8:00am ET, with a back-up opportunity available on Thursday, June 12 at 7:37am ET.

This is the third time that the mission has been postponed. The initial launch date for the Ax-4 crew, also comprising commander Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański and Tibor Kapu, was scheduled to take place on May 29 but was moved to June 8. At a virtual press conference on May 20, Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX, had 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.”

The mission was rescheduled for June 10, but Axiom Space did not spell out the reasons. However, SpaceX had kept the June 11 window open.