Latest news with #SpaceXFalcon-9
New Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Science
- New Indian Express
Axiom-4 mission to now launch on June 22
BENGALURU: After multiple delays and rescheduling of dates, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said the most anticipated Axiom-4 space mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will launch on June 22. Taking to 'X', ISRO announced the new date after Indian scientists held discussions with their counterparts from Poland and Hungary. These two countries have sent an astronaut each on the 14-day manned mission to the ISS, along with India's Gaganyatri Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and former NASA astronaut, who is the mission commander, Peggy Whitson. Members from Axiom Space and NASA were also part of the discussions held to address the delays and parameters. 'Based on the readiness status of the SpaceX Falcon-9 launch vehicle, the Dragon spacecraft, repairs in the Zvezda module of the space station, ascent corridor weather conditions, and the health and preparedness of the crew in quarantine, Axiom Space has informed that the next probable launch date is June 22, 2025,' ISRO said. Earlier on June 14, ISRO had announced that the mission would launch on June 19, 2025. But later the same day, it was withdrawn and ISRO said the next launch date would soon be announced. The launch was initially targeted for May 29, but deferred to June 8, 2025, because of the observations in the electrical harness in the Crew Dragon Module. The launch was then postponed to June 9 because of the delay in the preparedness of the Falcon-9 rocket. The mission was then postponed to June 10 due to inclement weather at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida from where the launch was to take place. Also, during inspections and hot fire tests that were conducted on June 8, the team had observed oxygen leak in the engine bay, besides anomalies in one of the engine actuators. The launch was then rescheduled to June 11, anticipating the issues to be addressed. On June 11, NASA and ISRO flagged their concerns to Russian space agency Roscosmos to evaluate the new pressure signature in the Zvezda Service Module on the ISS due to the air leak. ISRO had recommended to Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX to carry out in-situ repairs and conduct a low temperature leak test to validate the performance of system.
New Indian Express
18-06-2025
- Science
- New Indian Express
Axiom-4 mission may launch on June 22, ISRO announces
BENGALURU: After multiple delays and rescheduling of dates, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said the most anticipated Axiom-4 space mission will probably launch on June 22. Taking to social media platform X, ISRO announced the new date after Indian scientists discussed with their counterparts from Poland and Hungary. These two countries have sent two of their astronauts on the 14-day manned mission to the International Space Station along with India's Gaganyatri Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. Members from Axiom Space and NASA were also part of the discussion that was held to address the multiple delays parameters. "Based on the readiness status of the SpaceX Falcon-9 launch vehicle, the Dragon spacecraft, repairs in the Zvezda module of the Space Station, ascent corridor weather conditions, and the health and preparedness of the crew in quarantine, Axiom Space has informed that the next probable launch date is June 22, 2025," ISRO said.
Sky News
26-02-2025
- Science
- Sky News
Space mission to blast off to moon's south pole - with suitcase-sized 'hopper' on board
Two space mining missions are blasting off this week, with one heading to the southern-most point ever visited on the moon's surface. A robotic moon lander called Athena will embark on Intuitive Machine's second mission to the moon. It made history a year ago by becoming the first private company to successfully land on the moon's surface - although the lander did fall over. Athena will be carrying a set of instruments and a drill to study the rocks and soil beneath the moon's surface and will help scientists identify where possible water sources could be. After lift-off, currently scheduled for shortly after midnight on 27 February, Athena will aim to land on 6 March and then spend ten days gathering data. There are also moon rovers aboard. One is a suitcase-sized hopper which will jump into a deep crater where scientists suspect there is ice and snap some images before jumping back out. 2:11 Catching a lift with Athena before it breaks off on its own is Odin, a robotic spacecraft that will perform a flyby mission of an asteroid. Odin's mission marks US company AstroForge's first attempt to hunt for platinum in space. It should take just five days to reach the far side of the moon, but will then wait for another 300 days in deep space before approaching its target asteroid. 0:15 It will then gather images of the asteroid in preparation for the company's next mission, Vestri, which will land on the asteroid and begin extraction. The same rocket, a SpaceX Falcon-9, will also launch a NASA-developed moon-mapping satellite called Lunar Trailblazer. The Lunar Trailblazer will orbit the moon detecting water on the surface. According to NASA, it will help scientists "determine the form, abundance, and distribution of water across the lunar surface". There's a race to find water on the moon because it may make it feasible to build a base there, making deep space exploration easier.
