The launch of the Axiom-4 mission, which will carry Indian astronaut Shubhsanshu Shukla and three others to the International Space Station (ISS), has been postponed yet again.
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s Axiom-4 launch has been postponed again. SpaceX, which is executing the mission, said in a statement that a liquid oxygen leak was noticed during post static fire booster inspections and hence, the launch has been postponed.
Shubhanshu Shukla and three others were earlier scheduled to fly to the International Space Station (ISS), but the same has been postponed a few times.
“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. Once complete – and pending Range availability – We will share a new launch date,” SpaceX said in an X post on Wednesday.
In an official statement with the title “Postponement of Axiom 04 mission slated for launch on 11th June 2025 for sending first Indian Gaganyatri to ISS”, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that a leak was found during inspection during the booster stage of Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
“As part of launch vehicle preparation to validate the performance of booster stage of Falcon 9 launch vehicle, seven second of hot test was carried out on the launch pad. It is understood that LOX leakage was detected in the propulsion bay during the test,” it said.
“Based on the discussion on this topic by ISRO team with the experts of Axiom and SpaceX it has been decided to correct the leak and carry out necessary validation test before clearing for the launch. Hence the launch of Axiom 04 slated for 11th June 2025 for sending first Indian Gaganyatri to ISS is postponed,” it added.
On Wednesday, SpaceX, NASA and Axiom Space said they were closely watching weather patterns at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, where Shubhanshu Shuklaand three others look forward to their travel to the ISS. SpaceX Vice President William Gerstenmaier said in a pre-launch press conference that engineers had fixed some snags in the Falcon-9 rocket that were discovered during the static fire test and had gone unnoticed during the post-flight refurbishment of boosters.