The launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), the latest private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), has been postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions along the spacecraft's flight path, SpaceX, NASA, and Axiom Space announced Monday.
The four astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 pose together during a dry dress rehearsal of launch day activities. Left to right: Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. Credit: SpaceX
The mission, originally scheduled for liftoff at 8:22 a.m. EDT on Tuesday from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, is now targeting a new launch window at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. A backup opportunity is available for 7:37 a.m. on Thursday, should weather or technical concerns persist.
Ax-4 marks the fourth private crewed mission to the ISS organized by Houston-based Axiom Space, in collaboration with SpaceX and NASA. The mission will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, whose first-stage booster—making its second flight after a previous Starlink launch—will return to land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1. This will also be the debut flight for the Dragon capsule assigned to this mission.
Targeted docking at the ISS is scheduled for approximately one day after launch. The station currently hosts nine crew members.
Leading the Ax-4 crew is former NASA astronaut Dr. Peggy Whitson, 65, now Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space. Whitson previously commanded Ax-2 and holds the U.S. record for most cumulative days in space.
Joining her are:
- Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), serving as the mission’s pilot. His participation marks ISRO’s first human spaceflight to the ISS.
- Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, representing the European Space Agency (ESA) as a mission specialist.
- Tibor Kapu of Hungary, also an ESA-backed mission specialist.
Ax-4 is set to make history as the first mission to the ISS to include astronauts from ISRO, as well as ESA astronauts from Hungary and Poland.
The four-person crew will spend several days aboard the space station, conducting more than 60 science experiments and technology demonstrations focused on human physiology, Earth observation, and innovations in life sciences and materials research.
Axiom Space, founded in 2016, is actively working toward building the first commercial space station, with deployment planned for the late 2020s. Ax-4 follows January’s successful Ax-3 mission, which featured the first all-European private astronaut crew.
Live launch coverage will be provided by Axiom Space, SpaceX, and NASA on Wednesday morning.
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