New Delhi: The launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla as part of its international crew, has been postponed once again due to a technical issue with the launch vehicle. This is the fifth delay for the mission that was scheduled to lift off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX announced the delay on Wednesday via a post on X, citing a leak in the liquid oxygen (LOx) system detected during post-static fire booster inspections.
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 pic.twitter.com/FwRc8k2Bc0
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 11, 2025
“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 post read.
The Axiom-4 mission, organised by private space company Axiom Space, is set to carry a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for a short-duration mission focused on microgravity research and space technology experiments. Shubhanshu Shukla, a former Air Force officer and payload specialist, is poised to become the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984.
