The commencement of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has once again been delayed. The Axiom-4 Mission to the ISS, originally set for June 10 at 8:22 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, has been rescheduled to June 11 due to adverse weather conditions. “Due to weather conditions, the launch of the Axiom-4 mission to send Indian Gaganyatri to the International Space Station is postponed from June 10, 2025, to June 11, 2025. The new targeted launch time is 5:30 p.m. IST on June 11, 2025,” ISRO stated in a post on X, attributing the delay to ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan. SpaceX, which is responsible for launching the Ax-4 crew aboard its Dragon spacecraft to the ISS, has now set June 11 as the target date for the Falcon 9 launch.”The launch is now targeted for 8:00 a.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 7:37 a.m. ET,” SpaceX announced.In a post on X, it was mentioned that the launch has been postponed due to high winds in the ascent corridor. “Now targeting no earlier than Wednesday, June 11, for Falcon 9 to launch @Axiom_Space’s Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station due to high winds in the ascent corridor,” SpaceX posted.
Group Captain Shukla’s mission to the ISS was initially scheduled for June 8 but was postponed to June 10.According to the previous plan, the crew was expected to dock with the space station on June 11 at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET. Once docked, the Ax-4 astronauts will spend around 14 days aboard the space station conducting microgravity research, technology demonstrations, and outreach events.Group Captain Shukla will serve as the pilot of the Ax-4 mission, while former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the commercial mission. The crew also includes European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.The Ax-4 crew is currently in quarantine. This marks the third time the launch has been delayed.
