Axiom-4 launch carrying Indian astronaut delayed again over oxygen leak

The Axiom 4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others has been postponed for the second time. According to NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity today to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair a liquid oxygen leak identified during post-static fire Falcon 9 rocket inspection. NASA has announced that a new launch date for the mission will be provided once repair work is complete.

It was decided to launch the mission through Falcon 9 at 5.30 pm Indian Standard Time. The flight was postponed for today due to bad weather conditions on Tuesday. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was set to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in



Florida.

Shubhanshu Shukla and the astronauts from the US, Poland and Hungary will spend two weeks at the international space station performing about 60 experiments, scientific studies and outreach programs. This is the first time that India, Poland and Hungary are sending their astronauts to the International Space Station. 

According to Weigal, the manager of the International Space Station Program at NASA, the space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two outreach demonstrations. Investigations include studying micro algae, sprouting salad seeds, tardigrade survival adaptations, muscle repair and assessing electronic displays.