Shubhanshu Shukla's Space Mission Postponed Again, No New Date In Sight

Better safe than sorry, this is what NASA and its partners are practising for their much awaited launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which is set to carry Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to space. The mission will no longer launch on Sunday, June 22, with a new date to be announced in the coming days.

This is the seventh delay in lift-off, because of "operational and safety concerns being addressed at the International Space Station".

"@NASA, @Axiom_Space, and @SpaceX continue reviewing launch opportunities for Axiom Mission 4. NASA is standing down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days," International Space Station said in a statement.

A spokesperson from Axiom Space, Houston told NDTV that the four astronauts are health and in good spirits. "I talk to them (the four astronauts) frequently and they are doing just fine. They are healthy and in good spirits. They trust the process and the decision making," the spokesperson said.

The crew, which has been in quarantine since May 14, continues to be in Florida to "maintain all medical and safety protocols", and the astronauts stand ready to launch when the station is ready to receive them.

The window for the lift-off is open till June 30. But if, for some reason, the deadline is missed, another opportunity will present itself in mid-July.

Axiom Mission 4

Axiom Mission 4 is a planned private spaceflight to the International Space Station operated by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA.

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission. ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot, making him the second Indian to go to space, nearly four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made history in 1984.

The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.