Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 launch likely tomorrow, says Nasa
After several delays, Nasa on Tuesday announced that the Ax-4 mission, carrying Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, would launch on June 25.This announcement comes just days after Nasa postponed the much-awaited launch of the private mission, scheduled for June 22, for the seventh time.The launch of the Ax-4 mission, which was initially scheduled to take off on May 29, has been repeatedly delayed due to technical issues, weather conditions and leaks on the International Space Station (ISS).advertisement
Nasa, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are now aiming to launch the mission at 12:01 pm (India time) on Wednesday."The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket. The targeted docking time is approximately 4:30 pm (India Time) Thursday, June 26," Nasa said in a statement.First postponed to June 8 due to problems with the Crew Dragon's electrical harness, the launch was then pushed to June 9 as the Falcon-9 rocket faced readiness delays. Subsequently, poor weather conditions pushed the launch date further to June 10.An oxygen leak, combined with other issues during the pre-launch tests, shifted the launch date to June 11 and subsequently to June 12 before it was pushed to June 22 after leaks were detected at the ISS.advertisementPeggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will lead the upcoming commercial mission as commander. ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to serve as the mission's pilot. Joining them as mission specialists are Sawosz Uznaski-Winiewski, a project astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA) from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.Meanwhile, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remain in good condition at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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