Axiom-4 Update: Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Mission To Space Again Delayed, New Launch Date To Be Announced Soon

Florida: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Thursday again postponed the Axiom -4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is set to carry Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three others to space. After multiple delays, the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) was scheduled for launch on June 22.

The new launch has not been announced yet. Notably, this is the seventh delay in the Axiom-4 launch. "@NASA, @Axiom_Space, and @SpaceX continue reviewing launch opportunities for Axiom Mission 4. NASA is standing down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days," the International Space Station said in a statement.

"The space agency needs additional time to continue evaluating International Space Station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the orbital laboratory’s Zvezda service module," it added.

The four-member crew remains in quarantine in Florida. Axiom Mission 4 will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom Space's Director of Human Spaceflight. Indian astronaut Shukla from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will serve as the mission's pilot. The mission specialists are ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remain in good condition and are stationed at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission is a collaboration between Axiom Space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and ISRO. The Axiom-4 was initially targeted for May 29, but it was postponed several times.