The Axiom Mission 4, carrying Indian Air Force’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts to space, will lift off from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida after a series of delays due to weather and technical issues. India is set to script history with the 14-day mission that would see an Indian astronaut flying to space after four decades.
Here’s why the spacecraft launch was delayed by nearly a month:
Delay 1 to June 8
The Falcon 9 rocket liftoff with the SpaceX Crew Dragon was originally scheduled on May 29. Weeks before the launch date, it was rescheduled to June 8 after NASA and its partners reviewed the flight schedules at the International Space Station. This provided more time to finalise the mission plans and logistics.
Delay 2 to June 10
NASA pushed back the launch two more days, attributing the delay to weather issues. Top experts working on this mission had then hinted at more possible delays on account of weather and some other technical issues in the Falcon 9 rocket that were being fixed.
Delay 3 to June 11
SpaceX officials confirmed that a liquid oxygen leak in the booster, paving the way for another delay. This leak was detected during the spacecraft’s last mission, but it had either not been fully repaired or had not been found. However, a successful dry run had been conducted, said William Gerstenmaier, Vice-President for Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX. An issue was also found in the thrust vector control, but the official had said it would be fixed in a day.
Delay 4 to June 13
The launch was delayed again after scientists detected a glitch on the space station where the crew is scheduled to dock. NASA said it has found a “pressure signature” on the Russian module”, due to which the launch has been postponed. It said NASA and Russian astronauts were already working to understand the pressure signature on the space station’s Zvezda service module.
Delay 5 to June 19
The Indian space agency announced a new launch date, June 19, pointing to a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Axiom Space and NASA were also working on the Zvezda Service Module on board the space station, the ISRO informed. ISRO chairman Dr V Narayanan had then told NDTV that it was a good decision to postpone the mission as a human crew was involved in the mission and “safety was paramount”.
Delay 6 – June 24
The sixth delay came on account of weather and technical issues.
It may be noted that while the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) gives an exact liftoff date, NASA uses the phrase “no earlier than”, which allows them to delay their launches without being hauled on fire.
The Axiom 4 Mission
The mission is a commercial venture between the Houston-based Axiom Space and NASA. India has paid Rs 550 crore for a seat on the spacecraft that would take a total of four members to the International Space Station. The mission is also referred to as the Mission Akash Ganga in India.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who has prepared extensively for the mission, will become only the second Indian astronaut, four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma went to space as part of an Indo-Soviet friendship mission in 1984.
Group Captain Shuka will be accompanied by mission commander Dr Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu. He is the pilot of the spacecraft.
During the 14-day mission, the crew will conduct about 60 scientific experiments, of which seven have been proposed by Indian researchers. Group Captain Shukla will also participate in a space-to-earth outreach programme.
