Shubhanshu Shukla's mission to ISS delayed again: Here's why
What's the story
The highly anticipated Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed due to a technical snag.
The delay comes after SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which was supposed to carry Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and others, detected a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak during post-static fire booster inspections.
The new launch date will be announced soon as repairs are underway.
Mission details
Shukla's historic spaceflight
The Axiom-4 mission marks a major milestone in India's space exploration efforts.
Shukla, an Indian Air Force pilot, will be the second Indian to travel to space after Rakesh Sharma's eight-day orbit of Earth under the Soviet Union's Interkosmos program in 1984.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has partnered with NASA and SpaceX for this mission, which will conduct several customized experiments on the ISS to further India's own space missions.
Delay explanation
ISRO explains reason for delay
ISRO has explained the reason for the Axiom-4 mission's delay, saying an LOx leak was detected in the propulsion bay during a seven-second hot test on the launch pad.
The organization said it was decided to first fix this leak and conduct necessary validation tests before proceeding with the launch.
Mission journey
Mission was initially scheduled for June 10
The Axiom-4 mission was initially scheduled for June 10 but was postponed to June 11 due to "unfavorable weather." Now, it has been delayed yet again.
Shukla will be accompanied by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut; Tibor Kapu from Hungary; and Slawosz Uznanski from Poland.
Once launched, the Ax-4 crew will spend up to 14 days on the ISS to conduct scientific experiments in microgravity.