Florida/New Delhi: NASA is standing down from the launch of Axiom 4 mission that is slated to carry Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), Union minister Jitendra Singh posted on X on Friday.
This means that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will not be launched on Monday. This is for the sixth time that the launch has been called off.
“As per information received, NASA is ‘standing down’ (withdrawing) from the launch of the mission,” Singh posted.
This time the launch has been called off as NASA wants to review recent repairs in the aft (back) section of the Zvezda service module on ISS, officials said.
The original launch date of the mission was May 29. The first launch was cancelled due to issues with the electrical harness of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft intended to carry the crew.
The subsequent launch scheduled for June 8 was postponed by a day because the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket wasn’t ready. The following day, bad weather along the flight path caused another 24-hour delay.
On June 10, an oxygen leak was detected in the Falcon 9 rocket, along with a problem in one of its actuators.
On June 11, NASA announced it was collaborating with Russia’s space agency to investigate a “new pressure signature,” which could indicate a leak in the rear section of a Russian module on the ISS.
By June 19, the launch was rescheduled to June 22. Axiom Space explained the delay was to allow NASA additional time to carry out inspections on the ISS after repairs to the Zvezda module.
Now, the latest delay has been attributed to ongoing “operational and safety concerns” being addressed on the ISS.
“Because of the space station’s interconnected and interdependent systems, Nasa wants to ensure the station is ready for additional crew members, and the agency is taking the time necessary to review data,” NASA said in a statement.
A new launch date is expected to be announced in the coming days. The current launch window remains open until June 30, and if the mission does not launch by then, the next available window will be in mid-July.
The Axiom-4 mission will be led by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson with Shukla as as the pilot. The crew also includes Slawosz Uznanski from the European Space Agency and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
During their 14-day mission, the crew will travel to the ISS on board the Dragon spacecraft. They will carry out around 60 experiments focused on fields such as life sciences, technology demonstrations, and diabetes research.
