After multiple delays, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission to launch on...

The Axiom-4 mission, set to carry India's Shubhanshu Shukla, along with three other astronauts to the International Space Station, is scheduled to be launched on June 19, said ISRO in a statement. The Axiom-4 mission will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 19 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Four astronauts, including Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, will travel to space on SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket as part of the space mission. Originally scheduled to launch on June 10, the space agency had to delay it by a day due to bad weather. The mission was postponed, according to the specifications, as engineers wanted additional time to fix a leak in SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that the upcoming Axiom-4 Mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station is rescheduled for June 19. In a post on X, Singh, who is also the Union Minister of State for Space, said, "Launch date of the Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station is, as of now, rescheduled for June 19, 2025."
"Also, the SpaceX team has confirmed that all the issues that led to the earlier postponement of the launch have been duly addressed," he clarified

A day earlier, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it was working closely with Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX as they responsibly addressed the ISS Zvezda module observation, causing the Ax-4 delay.

V Narayanan, the Secretary of DOS/Chairman of ISRO and Chairman of the Space Commission, said that safety and mission integrity were their priorities.

On June 11, SpaceX announced the postponement of the Falcon 9 launch of the Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), citing the need for additional time to repair a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak.

"Standing down from tomorrow's Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the @Space_Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post-static fire booster inspections. "Once complete - and pending Range availability - we will share a new launch date," the company said in a post on X.

Despite the delay, the Axiom-4 mission remains significant. The Ax-4 crew includes members from India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first mission to the space station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years, according to Axiom Space. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be India's second national astronaut to go to space since 1984.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is part of Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4), marking a historic moment for India's space collaboration with NASA.

According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will "realise the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. 

(with inputs from ANI)