Axiom-4 launch: Crew safety paramount, Isro insisted in review meets
CAPE CANAVERAL (FLORIDA): Hours after
SpaceX
revealed late Monday that it had detected multiple snags in the
Falcon-9 rocket
that was to launch the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) crew aboard the Dragon spacecraft, a series of meetings unfolded Tuesday and in all of them,
Isro
asserted that
crew safety
was paramount.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is part of the Ax-4 crew and is set to become only the second Indian to go to space.
As part of the launch preparation, all nine engines of the first stage were to be tested together. During one of those tests, it was found that a control actuator had a glitch, and during static test fire, a liquid oxygen (LOX) leak was detected. Once this information came out on Monday, Isro was part of a meeting with all the stakeholders, where it strongly articulated its concerns about
astronaut safety
and wanted detailed discussions before greenlighting the launch.
"That Isro team was led by chairman V Narayanan helped, given his experience, especially with cryogenic propulsion systems. After all, he helped build it for India. Isro had requested that all issues with the rocket needed to be 'resolved' before they went ahead with the launch," a source said. When contacted, Narayanan told TOI: "All I can say at this juncture is that for India and Isro, the safety of our astronaut and crew is paramount. Mission partners have decided to correct the leak and carry out necessary validation tests before clearing for the launch."
When SpaceX vice-president of build and flight reliability, William Gerstenmaier, first revealed the information about the leak during a mission readiness review late on Monday, the issue was not categorised as something concerning. He said it would be resolved and the rocket would be ready for launch.
However, after subsequent meetings between all partners involved in the mission, SpaceX and the other partners decided to scrub the launch, seeking "additional time for teams to repair the LOX leak.
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