The Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. The Axiom Mission-4 crew, NASA said, will board a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the space station and spend up to 14 days at the orbiting laboratory.
New Delhi: Indian Airforce Officer and ISRO astronaut Shubanshu Shukla will fly into space on NASA’s Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) in May 2025, the US Space Agency said. NASA said the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is targeted to launch “no earlier than May 2025” from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
“The Axiom Mission 4 crew will launch no earlier than Spring 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the space station and spend up to 14 days at the orbiting laboratory,” NASA said in a detailed release about the mission.
Launch Update 🚀
Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the fourth private astronaut mission to the @Space_Station, is targeted to launch no earlier than May 2025 from @NASAKennedy in Florida.
Learn more about private astronaut missions: https://t.co/YxrgiAActD pic.twitter.com/Zuapfgorwd
— NASA Space Operations (@NASASpaceOps) April 2, 2025
The Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. It will have Tibor Kapu of Hungary, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland onboard.
The Axiom Mission-4 crew, NASA said, will board a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the space station and spend up to 14 days at the orbiting laboratory.
This mission is part of NASA’s broader plan to encourage private space travel and pave the way for future commercial space stations. With growing international cooperation, India’s participation showcases its capabilities in human spaceflight and strengthens its presence in global space missions.
Giving details about its previous Axiom mission, NASA said the first private astronaut mission, Axiom Mission 1, was launched in April 2022 for a 17-day mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. The second private mission, Axiom Mission 2, lifted off in May 2023 with four private astronauts who were in space for eight days in orbit.
The most recent Axiom Mission 3 was launched in January 2024 and the crew spent 18 days docked to the space station.
