Florida: The Axiom-4 mission, which was scheduled for the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, has been postponed again. The mission will carry Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three others to the ISS. The mission was put off again to fix a leak in SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket.
SpaceX on Tuesday evening (local time) announced that it was "standing down" from the Falcon-9 launch for "repairs". Notably, A post-static inspection of the rocket's boosters identified a liquid oxygen leak.
"Once complete and pending Range availability, we will share a new launch date," SpaceX said in an X post.
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said the liquid oxygen leak was detected in the propulsion bay during a seven-second hot test on the launch pad. The hot test was to validate the performance of the booster stage of the Falcon-9 launch vehicle.
"The ISRO team discussed with experts at Axiom and SpaceX and it was decided that the leak would be fixed and necessary validation tests conducted before clearing for the launch," Narayanan said, quoted by PTI.
Axiom Space spokesperson said that during the post-static fire investigation of the Falcon-9 booster that supports the Axiom-4 mission, SpaceX teams identified a liquid oxygen leak that requires additional work.
"SpaceX continues to work closely with Axiom Space and partners," Axiom Space said in a statement.
It was the second time that the mission was postponed. Earlier on Monday, the Axiom-4 mission was postponed due to bad weather conditions. "Due to weather conditions, the launch of the 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," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan said as quoted by PTI.
The Lucknow-born Group Captain Shukla goes by the call sign 'Shuks'. The Indian Air Force (IAF) officer is part of an ISRO-NASA-supported commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space. The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission comprises Commander Peggy Whitson, Shukla and specialists Tigor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland.
