NASA to launch Axiom Mission 4 piloted by Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla; here's all you need to know
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as part of its collaborative efforts with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is set to launch Axiom Mission 4 on Tuesday (June 10).
This will be the fourth private astronaut flight from Axiom Space and the first to carry an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS).
Piloted by India's Shubhanshu Shukla, the mission marks a significant milestone, fulfilling the commitment made by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send an ISRO astronaut to the station.
'The space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering, and mathematics demonstrations. NASA and ISRO have a long-standing relationship built on a shared vision to advance scientific knowledge and expand space collaboration,' NASA said in a statement on its website.
The 39-year-old Indian Air Force pilot will be the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma, who undertook a spaceflight in 1984.
Representing India, meet #Ax4 Mission Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla. @isro pic.twitter.com/3NkwIP3ER7
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) June 8, 2025
Launch details
The private mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and is targeted for launch at 8:22 am EDT (5:52 pm IST), Tuesday, June 10.
The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams, on Monday, successfully completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of its launch.
In a post on X, SpaceX said, 'The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff on Tuesday.'
The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/MEhuTdeuDf
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 8, 2025
The mission will also carry the first astronauts from Hungary and Poland to the space station.
The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 11, according to NASA.
Axiom Mission 4 crew
The Ax-4 mission features an international crew from the United States, India. Poland and Hungary.
Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, will command the commercial mission, and ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot.
The private mission also carries ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
Duration of the mission
The crew will travel to the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and is scheduled to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory.
The crew's approximately two-week stay includes conducting a mission comprising of science, education, and commercial activities
It will conclude when the spacecraft exits the space station.
'NASA's mission responsibility is for integrated operations, which begins during the spacecraft's approach to the space station, continues during the crew's approximately two-week stay aboard the orbiting laboratory while conducting science, education, and commercial activities, and concludes once the spacecraft exits the station,' the space agency said.
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