Axiom-4 Mission Carrying Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla To Launch Today: Check Launch Time
Axiom-4 Mission Carrying Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla To Launch Today: Air Force Group Captain and Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to create history today, i.e., Wednesday (June 25). He will be the second Indian to go to space after Rakesh Sharma, who orbited the Earth for eight consecutive days 41 years ago. Earlier, the US space agency NASA announced on Tuesday that the launch for the Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place on June 25.
Axiom-4 Mission Launch Time
NASA said Axiom Space and SpaceX have scheduled the launch of Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, early Wednesday. NASA said that the docking time will be around 7 am on June 26 (4.30 pm Indian time). This mission will be launched from Launch Complex 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Axiom-4 commercial mission is led by Commander Peggy Whitson, with Shubhanshu Shukla as the mission pilot. Earlier, the launch of this mission was postponed several times. Earlier, this mission was to be launched on May 29, but it was postponed due to technical difficulties.
When and why was the mission postponed?
Preparations for this mission have been going on since last month. But due to technical flaws, its launch kept getting postponed. After May 29, it was scheduled to be launched on June 8, 10, and 11, but the mission had to be postponed due to fuel leakage in SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket and leakage in the Russian part of the International Space Station. After this, it was planned to be launched on June 19 and then on June 22, but NASA extended the mission to check the system after repair work in the ISS.
SpaceX gave this information
Meanwhile, SpaceX has said that the weather looks favorable for the launch of the mission and all systems are working well. SpaceX said in a post on X that all systems are looking good for the launch of Axiom Space’s X-4 mission on Wednesday. Apart from this, the weather is also 90% favorable for the launch.
Who is included in the mission?
Lucknow-born Shubhanshu Shukla will travel for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday evening in an Axiom Space commercial spacecraft funded by ISRO and NASA. Shubhanshu will remain in space for fourteen days. Shukla’s colleagues on the Axiom-4 mission, Commander Peggy Whitson and Mission Specialists Tibor Kapu from Hungary and Slavoj Ujnaski-Wisniewski from Poland, characterise him as operationally competent, focused, and exceptionally smart in terms of space technologies. Shukla, a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, was selected in 2019 to be part of India’s astronaut corps for the Gaganyaan mission along with fellow officers Prashant Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, and Ajit Krishnan. Gaganyaan is planned to be launched in 2027. These three astronauts of Gaganyaan were given extensive training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia and ISRO’s Astronaut Training Center in Bangalore.
Will be a part of seven ISRO and five NASA experiments
ISRO has prepared a set of seven experiments for Shukla. Apart from this, Shukla will also participate in five joint studies planned for NASA’s human research program. Shukla will conduct experiments like sprouting fenugreek and moong (green gram) in microgravity conditions on the ISS. Shukla will expose the seeds to macrobiotic conditions and bring them back to Earth, where they will be grown as plants not just once but for generations.
Shubhanshu will benefit from this journey in Gaganyaan
Shukla’s experience on Axiom Mission 4 will be very well utilised in ISRO’s Gaganyaan space flight mission. ISRO is spending Rs 550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.
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