Axiom-4 Mission: New Launch Date On June 19, ISRO Says Liquid Oxygen Leak Fixed
A follow-on coordination meeting between ISRO, Axiom Space, and SpaceX confirmed that the liquid oxygen leak observed in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle has been successfully resolved.
The launch of the Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station is now scheduled for June 19, Union Minister Science & Technology Jitendra Singh said on Saturday.
A SpaceX team has confirmed that all the issues that led to the earlier postponement of the launch have been duly addressed, he said. "Further update, if any, will be accordingly shared."
The Axiom Space mission was originally scheduled for lift-off on May 29, which was put off to June 8, June 10 and June 11, when SpaceX, the provider of the launch rocket and the space capsule, detected a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 rocket.
This mission is significant for India as Shukla will be the first Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma's 1984 journey aboard a Soviet spacecraft. Shukla is an Indian Air Force officer and ISRO astronaut.
This mission features an international crew comprising astronauts from the US, India, Poland and Hungary.
The crew will travel to ISS onboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft which was set to be launched by a Falcon 9 rocket.
Billionaire Elon Musk-owned SpaceX said the delay was due to additional time required to fix the leak in the Falcon 9 rocket.
"During a follow-on coordination meeting between ISRO, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, it was confirmed that the liquid oxygen leak observed in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle has been successfully resolved," the ISRO said in a statement.
The 14-day mission will 'realise the return' to human spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary.
