Rahul Somvanshi
After multiple delays, NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX have finally set a new launch date for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station. The mission is now scheduled to lift off at 2:31 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission has faced a series of postponements since its original target date of May 29, 2025. These delays were caused by several technical issues, including Florida weather concerns, a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket discovered during post-static fire inspections, and a pressure leak in the Russian Zvezda service module of the International Space Station.
Ax-4 is a significant milestone for private spaceflight and marks several historic firsts. The four-person crew features astronauts from four different countries, with three nations sending their first representatives to the ISS.
Commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who now serves as Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight, will lead the mission. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will serve as pilot, becoming India’s first astronaut to visit the ISS and the second Indian citizen to travel to space.
The mission specialists are Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, who will be the first Polish astronaut to visit the ISS, and Tibor Kapu, who will become Hungary’s first astronaut since the fall of the Soviet Union.
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The crew will travel aboard a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft – tail number C213 – which is the fifth and final Crew Dragon capsule to be built by SpaceX. This spacecraft is expected to dock with the International Space Station at approximately 7:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, June 26.
During their approximately two-week stay on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments representing 31 countries, making it the most research-intensive Axiom Space mission to date. These experiments span human health research, Earth observation, life sciences, and technology demonstrations.
“This is the first flight for this Dragon capsule and I can’t think of a better way for this capsule to enter the fleet than by flying this international crew,” said William Gerstenmaier, vice president of Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX, during a recent press briefing.
The mission represents a significant step toward Axiom Space’s long-term vision of establishing the world’s first commercial space station. Known as Axiom Station, the company plans to have it operational by 2028.
“For us, those objectives, that training that we do, not only with the crew, but with all our ground teams, is so important for our end goal, which is Axiom Station,” Whitson explained in a pre-launch statement.
For those interested in watching the historic launch, NASA will provide live coverage on its various platforms, beginning approximately two hours before liftoff.
