Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others are all set to travel to the International Space Station on Wednesday (June 25). SpaceX announced that the weather was 90% favourable for lift-off.NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are now targeting 12.01 PM (IST), Wednesday, June 25, for the launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4, NASA said.
The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The targeted docking time is approximately 4.30 pm IST on Thursday, June 26, NASA said in a statement.The Axiom-4 mission has run into multiple delays, first on account of inclement weather and then due to leaks detected on SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket and later on the Russian module of the International Space Station.Here are the live updates:# Falcon 9 will launch Ax-4 missionFalcon 9 will launch Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station no earlier than Wednesday, June 25 from pad 39A in Florida.Up next: Falcon 9 will launch @Axiom_Space’s Ax-4 mission to the @Space_Station no earlier than Wednesday, June 25 from pad 39A in Florida → pic.twitter.com/p2sXnMCEiR— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 24, 2025 # Captain Shubhanshu Shukla all set to script history#WATCH | Lucknow, UP: India’s Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is all set to script history, as Axiom-4 mission is all set to be launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida today. The Indian Air Force Group Captain is heading to the International Space… pic.twitter.com/96nlrmDCYH— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2025 # Moment of pride for us and everyone else, says Shubhanshu Shukla’s motherGroup Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mother, Asha Shukla, tells ANI, “It is a moment of pride for us and everyone else. Posters are being put up everywhere. Everyone is delighted that a man from this country, this Triveni Nagar, is going to soar so high…We are sending all our wishes and blessings to him…He has all the support of our daughter-in-law. This could not have been possible without her…She has played the biggest role here.”# Weather 90% favourable for lift-off, says SpaceX”All systems are looking good for Wednesday’s launch of @Axiom_Space’s Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station and weather is 90% favorable for liftoff,” SpaceX, which is providing transport for the space mission, said in a post on X.# Peggy Whitson to command the missionPeggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot.The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, and HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) astronaut Tibor Kapu of Hungary.First Published: Jun 25, 2025 9:01 AM IST
