- Axiom Mission 4 launched from Kennedy Space Centre at 12:01 pm on Wednesday after delays
- The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will dock autonomously with ISS Harmony module at 4:30 pm Thursday
- The crew will spend 14 days on ISS conducting 60 science investigations and STEM outreach events
Axiom-4 Docking: Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), carrying India's Shubhanshu Shukla along with three other private astronauts from Poland, the United States and Hungary, is set to dock at the International Space Station (ISS) at 4.30 pm on Thursday. Houston-based Axiom Space successfully launched its fourth crewed mission to the ISS from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 12.01 pm on Wednesday, after nearly a month of delays and postponements.
Along with Shukla, aboard the spacecraft are mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary; and commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, a former NASA astronaut who now works for the company Axiom Space.
After over 24 hours of orbital chase, the crew aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to dock with the space station on Thursday.
Axiom-4 Docking
SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket will dock "autonomously" to the space-facing port of the ISS's Harmony module at approximately 4:30 pm on Thursday, according to SpaceX.
Docking is a procedure by which a spacecraft connects with the space station. The process begins with a carefully orchestrated approach by spacecraft--known as a rendezvous. During this process, the spaceship, with the help of radar-based systems and rendezvous antennas, manoeuvres towards the ISS.
Once Dragon is near the ISS, the spacecraft will begin rendezvous as it conducts a series of precise orbital manoeuvres to gradually align and raise its orbit for a precise docking with the ISS's Harmony module. An automated system is in place to handle docking procedures efficiently, but it requires careful monitoring and manoeuvring by ground teams and on-board crew.
If all goes well, Dragon is set to dock with Harmony's space-facing port at 4:30 PM IST, after which the hatch will be opened to let the four-member crew aboard the ISS and begin their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Once on the ISS, the Ax-4 astronauts will greet the seven Expedition 73 crewmates, call down to Earth and then participate in a safety briefing with the station residents.
The crew will spend about 14 days aboard the orbiting lab, completing at least 60 science investigations and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach events.
The mission's return date is largely dependent on weather at Dragon's splashdown zone in the Pacific Ocean. It will be SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery, following a shift from Atlantic Ocean or Gulf recoveries due to the potential for spacecraft debris surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth.
Shukla's Axiom 4 Mission
Shukla became the first Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma, an air force pilot who travelled to the Salyut 7 space station in 1984 as part of a Soviet-led initiative to help allied countries access space.
India's ISRO sees this flight as a key stepping stone toward its own maiden crewed mission, planned for 2027 under the Gaganyaan program, meaning "sky craft."
"What a fantastic ride," Shukla said in Hindi after liftoff. "This isn't just the start of my journey to the International Space Station -- it's the beginning of India's human space program."
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the successful launch.
"He carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!" he wrote on X.
