After several delays, NASA has finally confirmed that the Axiom-4 space mission will lift off on Wednesday. The crew includes Shubhanshu Shukla from India along with three other astronauts.
With @Axiom_Space and @SpaceX, we're now targeting Wednesday, June 25, to launch #Ax4 to the @Space_Station.
— NASA (@NASA) June 24, 2025
The four-member crew, including astronauts from @ESA and @ISRO, is scheduled to lift off at 2:31am ET (0631 UTC). Learn more about the launch: https://t.co/P3QzvdE4vZ pic.twitter.com/AoWb5zTgXn
Launch Set from Kennedy Space Centre
The spacecraft will take off from Kennedy Space Centre’s Complex 39A, sometime around noon IST. The journey to the International Space Station (ISS) will take about 28 hours, with docking expected by 4:30 pm IST on Thursday.
Once docked, the astronauts will spend about 14 days aboard the ISS, carrying out experiments and other scheduled tasks.
Repeated Delays Before Final Confirmation
NASA confirmed the new launch date on Tuesday, just a day before liftoff. Originally, the Axiom-4 mission was supposed to launch on May 29. However, technical problems delayed the mission multiple times.
One of the major concerns was a leak in the Russian-built Zvezda module on the ISS. That leak had been discovered back in 2019 and remained under repair for several years. It was finally fixed just before the Axiom-4 mission was cleared for launch.
Safety Checks Were a Priority
NASA earlier explained that the June 22 launch delay happened because of critical safety checks. The agency said, “Because of the station’s interconnected systems, NASA wants to ensure it’s ready for more crew members.”
An Indian official involved in the mission added that, even after the leak was repaired, engineers needed to run a full system check. This was to make sure nothing else had been damaged, which caused the final postponement.
Astronauts in Quarantine Since Mid-May
To maintain crew health and prevent any risk of infection, all four astronauts have been kept in quarantine since mid-May. This helps ensure their mission in space goes smoothly and safely.
The crew members are Peggy Whitson (USA), Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland), Tibor Kapu (Hungary), and Shubhanshu Shukla (India). These astronauts are now set to begin their mission aboard the ISS after weeks of preparation, training, and delay.