Weather 90% favourable for Axiom-4 mission: SpaceX

New Delhi: After multiple delays, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others are all set to travel to the International Space Station on Wednesday with SpaceX announcing that the weather was 90 per cent favourable for lift-off.

"All systems are looking good for Wednesday’s launch of @Axiom_Space’s Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station and weather is 90% favorable for liftoff," SpaceX, which is providing transport for the space mission, said.

NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are now targeting 12.01 PM (IST), Wednesday, June 25, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4, NASA said.

The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company's Falcon 9 rocket.

The targeted docking time is approximately 4.30 pm IST on Thursday, June 26, NASA said in a statement.

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot.

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

The Axiom-4 mission has run into multiple delays, first on account of inclement weather and then due to leaks detected on SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket and later on the Russian module of the International Space Station.

The launch opportunity comes after NASA and Roscosmos officials discussed the status of the recent repair work in the transfer tunnel at the aft (back) most segment of the orbital laboratory's Zvezda service module, NASA said.

"NASA and Roscosmos have a long history of cooperation and collaboration on the International Space Station. This professional working relationship has allowed the agencies to arrive at a shared technical approach and now Axiom Mission 4 launch and docking will proceed," said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro.

As part of a collaboration between NASA and ISRO, Axiom Mission 4 delivers on a commitment highlighted by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first ISRO astronaut to the station, the NASA statement said.

The space agencies are participating in five joint science investigations and two in-orbit STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) demonstrations.

Once docked, the private astronauts plan to spend about two weeks aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting a mission comprising science, outreach, and commercial activities.