The long-awaited launch of the Axion 04 mission, scheduled to take off on Wednesday, has been postponed again following a detection of a leak in the propulsion area during a normal pre-flight check, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed.
Managed by US-based Axiom Space, the mission was intended to take Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla—along with three foreign colleagues—to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Liftoff was scheduled from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on June 11 at 8 a.m. local time (5:30 p.m. IST). The mission had previously been delayed several times, having slipped from the original May 29 date to June 8, and then June 10, before finally reaching June 11 before this latest delay.
ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan posted the news on X (formerly Twitter), saying:
Postponement of Axiom 04 mission scheduled for liftoff on 11th June 2025 for taking first Indian Gaganyatri to ISS. As a part of preparation of launch vehicle to authenticate the performance of booster stage of Falcon 9 launch vehicle, seven second hot test was conducted on the launch pad. It is understood that LOX leakage during the test had been identified in the propulsion bay.
He also added that ISRO, Axiom Space, and SpaceX have all agreed to rectify the issue and carry out further validation tests before proceeding:
"According to the discussion on this issue by ISRO team with Axiom and SpaceX experts it has been decided to rectify the leak and perform necessary validation test prior to clearing for launch."
SpaceX also released a statement saying the delay:
"Standing down tomorrow's (June 11) Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the ISS in order to provide more time for SpaceX teams to work on repairing the LOx leak that was discovered via post static fire booster inspections. When finished—and subject to Range availability—we will post a new launch date."
The Axion 04 mission is a milestone in India's quest for space exploration, with Shubhanshu Shukla becoming the first Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS and just the second Indian person to go to space in general after Rakesh Sharma's record-breaking 1984 flight on Soviet space station Salyut 7.
Shukla will be the pilot of the mission, serving under Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States. The mission crew also features mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
In orbit, Shukla will guide sophisticated food and nutrition science experiments as part of a collaborative effort by India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), assisted by NASA. The experiments aim to advance scientific understanding about how microgravity impacts food sources and could enable the development of life-support systems for future long-duration spaceflights.
One of the main emphases will be the examination of edible microalgae, which are rich in nutrients and have been considered as sustainable food for space travel. The study will explore growth patterns, and perform transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses comparing between samples grown in space conditions and on Earth.
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