ISRO announces Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission likely to launch June 19

India's Shubhanshu Shukla, along with three other international astronauts, is now likely to embark on the Axiom-4 commercial mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 19, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Saturday. This highly anticipated mission, marking India's return to human spaceflight after Rakesh Sharma's historic journey in 1984, has faced several delays, most recently due to an issue concerning a leak onboard the ISS's Russian module, which NASA began examining on Thursday.

The crew, originally slated for lift-off on May 29, experienced multiple postponements to June 8, June 10, and June 11, primarily due to a liquid oxygen leak detected in the Falcon-9 rocket by SpaceX, the mission's launch provider. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the Axiom-4 mission, with ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla serving as pilot. They will be joined by European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, with the 14-day mission also signifying a return to human spaceflight for Poland and Hungary.

During their anticipated 14-day stay at the orbiting laboratory, the Ax-4 crew is scheduled for various engagements, including interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, school students, and space industry leaders. For India, the mission holds significant scientific and strategic importance: Shukla is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed jointly by ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), supported by NASA. Furthermore, his experience on Axiom Mission 4 is expected to be invaluable for ISRO's ambitious Gaganyaan space flight mission, planned for 2027, with ISRO reportedly spending ₹550 crore on this commercial spaceflight endeavor.