New Delhi [India], June 18 (HBTV): The launch of Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, has been rescheduled to no earlier than Sunday, June 22. The change in the targeted launch date allows NASA to continue evaluating space station operations after recent repair work in the aft segment of the station's Zvezda service module.

In a post on X, Axiom Space stated that the Ax-4 crew — comprising Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, as commander; ISRO astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as pilot; and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland (ESA project astronaut) and Tibor Kapu of Hungary — remains in quarantine in Florida to maintain medical and safety protocols.

‘The #Ax4 crew remains in quarantine in Florida to maintain all medical and safety protocols. The crew is in good health and high spirits and looks forward to launch!’ Axiom Space posted.

The Ax-4 mission will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Despite the delay, the Axiom-4 mission remains significant. It includes crew members from India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first mission to the space station and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become India’s second national astronaut to go to space since 1984.

According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will ‘realise the return’ to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, and marks a historic moment in India’s space collaboration with NASA.

(ANI)