SpaceX has Cleared Axiom’s Ax-4 Private Space Mission to the ISS for Launch on June 8

Axiom’s Ax-4: After final review, the Ax-4 crew will be sent to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft from the Launch Complex at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 8 at 6:41 p.m. IST using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Over 60 scientific and outreach experiments on the orbiting lab will be part of the 14-day voyage, making it the most research-focused expedition that Axiom has ever advertised.

Indian astronauts will visit the ISS for the first time on this private collaboration mission with Axiom Space, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

The ISS Mission Advances Global Science While Axiom Gets Ready for the Private Space Station

According to Axiom Space, an internal Flight Readiness Review verified that all personnel and systems were prepared for launch on May 21. Peggy Whitson, a seasoned NASA astronaut who is leading the Ax-4 mission, will be making her fifth space flight and her second for Axiom. India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland’s Sławosz Uznański (representing the European Space Agency), and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu will be by Whitson’s side. All three will be making their maiden spaceflight, and each will be visiting the ISS for the first time.

The crew has been going through rigorous training at SpaceX facilities, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and Axiom Space for the past few months. Additionally, this will be India’s, Poland’s, and Hungary’s first official flight in nearly 40 years. The only Indian to have traveled to space to date is cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, who did so in 1984 on a Russian Soyuz.

Experiments from 31 nations will be contributed by the Ax-4 mission, with Poland and Hungary playing a major role. Hungary’s HUNOR space program is funding 25 experiments, while ESA is funding 17.

The astronauts themselves will reveal the name of the freshly constructed Crew Dragon spacecraft on which the crew will launch. Future missions will probably build on Ax-4’s worldwide collaboration concept, which Axiom views as a first step toward running its orbiting station.