What is Zvezda module, Russian contribution to ISS further delaying Axiom-4 Mission
NASA and Axiom said in a statement they were postponing the launch so that, along with Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, they can get more time to understand the problem.
The leak was detected in the Russian Zvezda module of the ISS and the three cosmonauts in the module are working to fix the issue.
New Delhi: A leak detected near the rear of the International Space Station (ISS) has further delayed the launch of the Axiom-4 Mission carrying IAF Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla to space, NASA announced Friday morning. According to ISRO, the new launch date will be announced jointly by NASA and Axiom once the issue is resolved.
The decision was made keeping in mind that Shukla and the three other crew members aboard Ax-4 Mission are expected to spend a minimum of two weeks living on the ISS, conducting research.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also said it was 'working closely' with Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX to 'responsibly address' the ISS module problem.
ISRO is working closely with @Axiom_Space, @NASA, @SpaceX as they responsibly address the ISS Zvezda module observation causing the Ax‑4 delay. Safety and mission integrity remain our top priorities.
With regards
Dr. V.Narayanan
Secretary DOS/
Chairman ISRO & Chairman Space…
— ISRO (@isro) June 12, 2025
This is the fourth time the Axiom-4 Mission, which marks an Indian astronaut's return to space after 41 years, has been postponed. The mission was initially set to launch on 29 May but was pushed to 8 June because of problems identified in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
It was subsequently moved to 9 June because of readiness issues in the SpaceX Falcon rocket, and then again to 10 June because of unfavourable weather conditions.
On 10 June, Axiom announced that it had noticed a liquid oxygen leak in the rocket during the dry run and was postponing the launch again.
The mission now stands postponed with no future launch date set.
Also Read: What is a LOx leak—snag that has delayed Axiom-4 mission once again
What is the Zvezda module
The Zvezda module, part of the Russian contribution to the ISS, was docked to the station in July 2000. It provides life support systems, living quarters, communications systems and flight control systems to Russian cosmonauts aboard the station.
According to the ISS blog, cosmonauts onboard the Zvezda module recently repaired the air leak in their module. However, NASA again discovered a change in air pressure inside the ISS, indicating a leak or anomaly.
The cosmonauts have checked the interior walls of the Zvezda module for cracks and sealed the suspicious areas. While the pressure inside seems to be normal, NASA and Roscosmos are still looking for a longer-term solution. The ISS is made up of different modules attached by different space agencies—NASA, JAXA, CSA, ESA, and Roscosmos.
While some modules like the Permanent Multipurpose Module by the ESA are used mainly for cargo storage, others like the Cupola by NASA are used for Earth observation and space walks.
However, the Zvezda, like ESA's Tranquility Module and NASA's Unity Module, is one of three ISS modules that have life support systems for astronauts in space and provide living quarters.
In the event of a new mission like Axiom-4 carrying a crew to space, it is vital for the station to be fully operational and intact to prevent potential problems during the docking of spacecraft or conducting research experiments.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: India poised for human spaceflight after 41 yrs—all about Axiom-4, Shubhanshu Shukla's 'dream come true'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
NASA launching rockets to investigate mysterious ionospheric clouds disrupting global communication networks
Source: NASA NASA is taking to the skies to solve a silent mystery that threatens global communications. In a groundbreaking effort, the agency is launching uncrewed rockets from the remote Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of its Sporadic-E ElectroDynamics (SEED) mission. The goal is to investigate Sporadic-E layers of strange, cloud-like ionized structures in Earth's upper atmosphere that disrupt radio signals and confuse everything from air traffic control systems to military radar. These invisible layers form suddenly, move unpredictably, and vanish just as quickly making them almost impossible to forecast. Beginning June 13, 2025, the three-week launch window will give scientists a rare opportunity to study their behaviour near the magnetic equator, where they remain most misunderstood. NASA launches mission to study ionosphere clouds disrupting communication systems The Sporadic-E ElectroDynamics (SEED) mission is a NASA-sponsored scientific experiment aimed at examining enigmatic, high-speed, cloud-like layers of the lower ionosphere called Sporadic-E layers. These tight clusters of ionized particles usually due to metal components from meteors may disrupt radio communications, aviation navigation systems, military radar, and GPS signals by reflecting signals in unpredictable ways back to the planet. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Source: NASA Major objectives of the SEED mission: Learn how Sporadic-E layers develop and behave, particularly close to Earth's magnetic equator. Obtain high-resolution information on the dynamics of these layers via uncrewed suborbital rocket flights. Enhance prediction models so they can forecast and accommodate signal interruptions due to these ionospheric anomalies more effectively. Launch site and schedule: Location: Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands Mission window: A three-week launch window starting on June 13, 2025. What are Sporadic-E layers The expedition targets an occurrence called Sporadic-E layers, which occur in the lower ionosphere, a charged area of Earth's upper atmosphere between 60 and 1,000 kilometers from the surface. These dense balls of ionized particles cannot be seen with the naked eye but can be identified by radar. They behave like patchy or overcast cloud layers, which can reflect radio signals back to Earth prematurely, before those signals reach higher and more stable layers of the ionosphere. This early reflection can disrupt anything from aviation communication systems to military radars. Air traffic controllers and marine radio users, for instance, might hear signals from remote locations as if they originated locally. Military systems, on the other hand, might see "ghost" signals or decoy targets as a result of unpredictable signal bouncing. "These Sporadic-E layers are not observable with the naked eye," said Aroh Barjatya, principal investigator of the SEED mission. "In plots of radar, some layers resemble patchy and puffy clouds, and others resemble a blanketing overcast sky; we refer to those as blanketing Sporadic-E layers." Because Sporadic-E layers are so dynamic, constantly forming, moving, and evaporating they cannot easily be predicted. Their arrival can disrupt or jumble important transmissions, which are dangerous not only to commercial navigation but also to defense and aerospace applications. The SEED mission is thus intended to improve our capability to predict and counteract these disruptions. "These are a lot of interest to predict and understand their behavior due to the extent to which they disrupt communications," said Barjatya. Source: NASA What makes these elusive layers The ionosphere is inhabited by charged particles ions which are commonly formed when burning meteors enter Earth's atmosphere, emitting gases like iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Such metallic ions are more massive than typical ions in the ionosphere and seek to fall below an altitude of 140 kilometers. Under special conditions, these metal ions group together and form the dense structures called Sporadic-E layers. Researchers have formulated functional models to describe how and why such layers develop in midlatitude regions, yet they act like an enigma in equatorial regions. Why NASA launches from equator-adjacent Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll, a coral atoll in the Marshall Islands, provides a rare geographic boon: it is the nearest launch site to the Earth's magnetic equator reachable by NASA. Here, scientists can observe how Sporadic-E layers react near the equator where the ionosphere's electromagnetic characteristics deviate from elsewhere. By launching rocket-borne instruments from the strategic site, NASA aims to collect the high-resolution data required to construct predictive models of Sporadic-E formation and migration. Also Read | Rare black iceberg spotted in Canada sparks global fascination; here's what caused it
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Smelling cash in the space race
Space has an odour. Visitors to the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, US, can smell it by pressing a button to inhale a puff of air that smells of space. Space is airless by definition, but the workaround is essential because we can't inhale 'space' without fatal consequences. Despite this logical complication, the experience is evocative and surprising. Space smells of long-distance travel. It smells of Indian highways far from big cities. It smells like the world did long ago on the railways, when almost everyone travelled without air conditioning. But hereafter, space could smell a little different. From the beginning of the space race, it has smelled of Cold War rivalry, military-industrial complexes and technology-based diplomacy. These metallic notes will remain; but from here on, space will also smell overwhelmingly of commerce, of paper money. Gold is economically and chemically stable. It has no smell, unlike space. The countdown of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space station has been aborted twice but soon, astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary could be back in space after 40 years and more. In anticipation, their national media have already declared it to be a turning point for their domestic space programmes. But the composition of the Axiom-4 mission also indicates that the whole world has passed a turning point. The crew led by American Peggy Whitson will be taken to orbit on Elon Musk's commercial Dragon launch vehicle, and the project is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, ISRO and the Houston firm Axiom Space, whose most ambitious project is the first commercial space station. The purpose of the collaboration is to facilitate a range of commercial activities in space, from scientific research to space tourism. Space is about to be opened up commercially, just like the world was opened like an oyster by the European Age of Exploration. About 40 years ago, when India, Poland and Hungary last sent their citizens into space, it was a domain where national governments showed off their technological prowess to compete for geopolitical gains. These three countries made a place for themselves in space under the aegis of Interkosmos, a Russian state programme launched in 1967 to help satellite nations of the USSR and other socialist nations like Afghanistan and Cuba reach space. Non-aligned nations Syria and India were also under its umbrella.
India Gazette
4 hours ago
- India Gazette
Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission reschedule for June 19: Union Minister Jitendra Singh
New Delhi [India], June 14 (ANI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that the upcoming Axiom-4 Mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station is rescheduled for June 19. In a post on X, Singh, who is also the Union Minister of State for Space, said, 'Launch date of the Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station is, as of now, rescheduled for June 19, 2025.' 'Also, the SpaceX team has confirmed that all the issues that led to the earlier postponement of the launch have been duly addressed,' he clarified. A day earlier, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it was working closely with Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX as they responsibly addressed the ISS Zvezda module observation, causing the Ax-4 delay. V Narayanan, the Secretary of DOS/Chairman of ISRO and Chairman of the Space Commission, said that safety and mission integrity were their priorities. V Narayanan, the Secretary of DOS/Chairman of ISRO and Chairman of the Space Commission, said that safety and mission integrity were their priorities. On June 11, SpaceX announced the postponement of the Falcon 9 launch of the Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), citing the need for additional time to repair a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak. 'Standing down from tomorrow's Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the @Space_Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post-static fire booster inspections. 'Once complete - and pending Range availability - we will share a new launch date,' the company said in a post on X. Despite the delay, the Axiom-4 mission remains significant. The Ax-4 crew includes members from India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first mission to the space station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 years, according to Axiom Space. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be India's second national astronaut to go to space since 1984. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is part of Axiom Space's fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4), marking a historic moment for India's space collaboration with NASA. According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will 'realise the return' to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, marking each nation's first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. (ANI)
