Launch of Axiom-4 mission with Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla postponed again, ISRO shares reason - The Indian Express

skip to content Advertisement Premium Launch of Axiom-4 mission with Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla postponed again, ISRO shares reason The SpaceX rocket was earlier set to liftoff on June 8, but the launch was pushed back to June 10. By: Express Web Desk Updated: Jun 9, 2025 09:02 PM IST Piloted by India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, the mission marks a significant milestone, fulfilling the commitment made by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send an ISRO astronaut to the station. (Photo/NASA) Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT The much-awaited launch of Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed to June 11, ISRO said on Monday. The SpaceX rocket was earlier set to liftoff on June 8, but the launch was pushed back to June 10. At the time, Axiom Space had said: “This shift allows teams to account for predicted inclement weather during the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft transport in addition to completing final processing of the spacecraft ahead of launch”. This will be the fourth private astronaut flight from Axiom Space and the first to carry an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS). Piloted by India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, the mission marks a significant milestone, fulfilling the commitment made by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send an ISRO astronaut to the station and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborates with the Indian space agency in the mission. Why was the launch postponed? “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,” the space agency said. Launch of Axiom-4 mission to International Space Station: 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… — ISRO (@isro) June 9, 2025   Shubhanshu Shukla on mission Notably, Shukla will be the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, who undertook a spaceflight in 1984. Shukla is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter wing in June 2006 and became Group Captain in March 2024. Shukla has 2,000 hours of flight experience across various aircraft, including the Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, and An-32. The AX-4 crew and SpaceX teams had finished a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of its launch on Monday and the mission is set to carry the first astronauts from Hungary and Poland to the space station. Story continues below. Subscribe to see fewer ads. The four crew members in the mission are from the United States, India, Poland and Hungary. Peggy Whitson, the director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space and a former NASA astronaut will spearhead the commercial mission and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. Apart from that, ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary will be part of the mission. 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