Axiom-4 Mission Live Streaming: How To Watch Shubhanshu Shukla's Space Mission Launch Live?

India’s Shubhanshu Shukla is set to create history with the launch of the Axiom-4 Mission on Wednesday. Group Captain Shukla will take off for the International Space Station (ISS) along with three other crew members.  NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX have collaborated on this project. It is the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS.

The mission was originally scheduled for lift-off on May 29 but was then put off to June 8, then June 10 and June 11, when engineers detected a liquid oxygen leak in the boosters of the Falcon-9 rocket and NASA also detected leaks in the ageing Russian module of the International Space Station.

The launch was then planned for June 19 and then on June 22 which was put off to allow NASA evaluate operations of the ISS after repairs in the Russian module.

Here’s everything you need to know about the mission’s schedule and livestreaming.

June 25:

• 10 a.m. IST: Axiom Space and SpaceX start coverage of the launch.

• 11:10 a.m. IST: NASA+ starts coverage.

• 12:01 p.m. IST: The Axiom 4 Mission will be launched.

NASA is scheduled to end coverage after the orbital insertion. This is expected to happen about 15 minutes after the launch. 

June 26: 

• 2:30 p.m. IST: NASA+, Axiom Space, and SpaceX start coverage of the mission’s arrival on the ISS.

• 4:30 p.m. IST: Docking at the ISS’ Harmony module.

The coverage will continue across the hatch opening and the welcome statements. 

The timings provided above are estimates and could change as per real-time conditions. 

Viewers in India can watch the live stream of the event on the YouTube channel of Axiom Space, SpaceX’s website and NASA+.

It is the first time that an Indian will visit the ISS and only the second time an Indian will reach space since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 mission. Shubhanshu Shukla has been appointed as the pilot for the Axiom Mission 4.

The mission will be commanded by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. The other members of the crew are Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, who will serve as mission specialists. 

The mission will be launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a new Dragon spacecraft.