Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday informed that the launch of Axiom-4, carrying Indian astronaut Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), has been postponed due to a technical issue.
According to Singh, a liquid oxygen (LOX) leak was detected during a 7-second hot test of the Falcon 9 booster, prompting a joint review by ISRO, Axiom, and SpaceX teams.
In a post on X, Singh stated, “Mission Update | Axiom-04 The launch of Axiom Mission 4, carrying India’s astronaut Shukla to the ISS, is postponed. A liquid oxygen (LOX) leak was detected during a 7-second hot test of Falcon 9’s booster. After a joint review by ISRO, Axiom & SpaceX teams, it was decided to rectify the issue & revalidate before liftoff. Safety. Precision. Commitment to excellence.”
Singh emphasised the importance of safety, precision, and commitment to excellence in the mission and stated that further updates on the mission will be shared accordingly.
Earlier, Union Minister Jitendra Singh spoke about the exclusive missions that Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will perform during his Axiom4 space mission.
He also mentioned that the world recognises India’s growth and capabilities and said that this has been possible due to recent changes in the space sector.
In a video released by the Office of Jitendra Singh, speaking about Gaganyaan mission, he said, “Gaganyaan is a very ambitious mission as far as ISRO is concerned. The whole world is closely watching it.”
He added, “Gaganyaan will also involve docking and undocking, which will happen in this. Once they go up, it will take about 28 hours, then after 28 hours, it will reach about 400 kilometres from the surface of Earth, which is in American physiology, about 250 miles, and there the docking would happen. They would then enter into the space station. And remain there for a minimum of about two weeks, which could also be extended. So the experience: getting accustomed to that kind of exercise walking into and walking out would also be required in case of Gaganyaan, and also several future experiments, and more so India’s own space station. We plan to have our own exclusive space station by 2035, which will be known as Bharat Space Station, and for that also, this experience is going to come in handy.”
Speaking about the role which will be performed by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, he said, “This time, Shubhanshu Shukla is going to play a very important role. He is going to have the most critical role because he will perform experiments which are exclusively going to have a bearing on the future space missions, not only those of India, also of NASA and other agencies. And I’m also glad to mention that it keeps up the spirit of the whole of science and the whole of government, which PM Modi keeps emphasising time and again. We got ISRO involved in an official MoU with the Department of Biotechnology. And as of now, Shubhanshu is scheduled to perform six sets of experiments. A) For example, about life sciences- the physical, physiological, and cognitive effects of being in space for a long while, which would affect the human body.”He added, “B) of course, the behavioral responses resulting from constant watching of the computer screen which is mandatory for all the astronauts. C) He is also going to experiment on the body’s response in extreme conditions. The effect of microgravity on muscle dysfunction and besides that, some plant-related research like how the cyanobacteria behave in microgravity, which could have a bearing on the production of food elements in space in times to come.”
He said, “These are very futuristic experiments which are exclusively assigned to Shubhanshu. Therefore, it’s a great breakthrough. This is a moment which would make our founding fathers proud- Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan. India today has reached that pedestal where we are looked upon as not junior partners, not as followers, but as partners who offer cues to others to follow. And this could be possible because of the reorientation of the space reforms, the opening of the space sector to the private players and it could not have been possible without the political will of the government in place.”
Union Minister Jitendra Singh thanked PM Modi for his leadership. “I have to thank PM Modi for he has the cpacity to make out-of-box decisions, break the taboos of the past because for six, seven decades we got conditioned to live with the belief that space has to act behind the veil of secrecy and it is not to be opened up to the private sector. Giving up that mindset, we are now following same global strategies, parameters, in fact, marching ahead of other nations as well.”
He elaborated, “We are now equal partners. The decision to have an Astronaut from India was taken and the offer was made to India incidentally when PM Modi was on a visit to Washington DC when President Biden was in place. So you can see there is also a reflection of the recognition of the Indian capabilities, Indian human resource, which is quite a departure from the earlier times when the capabilities of Indians were not taken seriously. That perception about India has also undergone a change.”
The Axiom-4 mission launch has been postponed to June 11, 2025, due to unfavorable weather conditions. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the mission, carrying Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), will now lift off at 5:30 PM IST on June 11.
ISRO wrote on X, “Launch of Axiom-4 mission to International Space Station: Due to weather conditions, the launch of Axiom-4 mission for sending Indian Gaganyatri to International Space Station is postponed from 10th June 2025 to 11th June 2025. The targeted time of launch is 5:30 PM IST on 11th June 2025: Dr V Narayanan, Chairman ISRO/ Secretary DOS / Chairman Space Commission.”
The Axiom-4 mission 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.
Slawosz Uznanski, European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut, will be the second Polish astronaut since 1978. Tibor Kapu will be the second national Hungarian astronaut since 1980. Peggy Whitson will command her second commercial human spaceflight mission, adding to her standing record for the longest cumulative time in space by an American astronaut. (ANI)
