Axiom-4 mission: Shubhanshu Shukla’s launch to space pushed back by a day

Shukla’s launch to space pushed back by a day

The Axiom-4 mission which will take India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed by a day to June 11 owing to bad weather, SpaceX confirmed Monday. “SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, June 11 for Falcon-9’s launch of the Ax-4 mission 4. Launch is targeted for 8am Eastern Time, with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, June 12 at 7.37 am,” SpaceX said. As per Indian Standard Time, the launch earlier scheduled for June 10 at around 5.52pm, is now scheduled for June 11 around 5.30pm.Both the Falcon-9, the rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft have already reached Kennedy Space Centre’s (KSC) Launch Complex-39A. Early on Sunday here, SpaceX had even completed the static firing of the Falcon-9. “Teams are reviewing static fire test data ahead of Tuesday’s launch of Ax-4 and keeping an eye on weather in the ascent corridor,” SpaceX had said, indicating that weather could be a factor. Axiom Space had confirmed late on Sunday that the Ax-4 crew — veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson (US), Polish engineer Sławosz Uznański, Hungarian researcher Tibor Kapu, and Shukla — and SpaceX teams completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff.Isro chairman V Narayanan, who has already reached the US to participate in the launch, also confirmed the delay. Isro has a team, mostly people from its Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC), including Gaganyaan flight surgeons as part of its delegation. Isro and Axiom Space sources confirmed that the delay is only owing to adverse weather conditions and that they were hopeful of the launch on June 11.