Axiom-4 Mission to the ISS Postponed Due to Technical Snag in Falcon 9 Rocket

 The highly anticipated Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla among its crew, has once again been postponed. The delay follows a technical issue identified in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

In an official statement, SpaceX announced a temporary hold on the launch, citing the need for additional time to address a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak detected during post-static fire inspections of the booster. “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,” the company stated on X (formerly Twitter).

SpaceX added that a new launch date will be communicated once the repair work is completed and range availability is confirmed.

Ahead of the scheduled launch, SpaceX, NASA, and Axiom Space were also closely monitoring weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At a pre-launch briefing, SpaceX Vice President William Gerstenmaier confirmed that several issues uncovered during the static fire test had been addressed. However, engineers identified a recurring LOx leak that had previously occurred during the booster’s reentry on an earlier mission and had not been fully resolved during its refurbishment.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan had earlier announced that adverse weather had initially delayed the launch from June 10 to June 11. The latest postponement now places the launch date under further review.

The Ax-4 mission crew consists of Commander Peggy Whitson (USA), Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla (India), and Mission Specialists Tigor Kapu (Hungary) and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland). The mission marks another milestone in international collaboration for space exploration and India's growing role in human spaceflight.