The highly anticipated Axiom-4 mission, featuring Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, was postponed from its original launch date of June 10, 2025, to June 11, 2025, due to unfavorable weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced this decision after assessing the weather situation, emphasizing the importance of safety for both the crew and the launch vehicle. This delay marks the fourth time the mission has been rescheduled, with previous postponements also attributed to adverse weather and technical considerations.

Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-year-old Indian Air Force fighter pilot, is set to become the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) and only the second Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma’s historic 1984 mission. The Ax-4 crew includes astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, making it a landmark event for all three nations as their first mission to the ISS. The mission is a collaborative effort between Axiom Space, NASA, SpaceX, and ISRO, reflecting growing international partnerships in human spaceflight.

The Axiom-4 mission will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, launching from the historic Launch Complex 39A, the same site used for Apollo 11. The mission, also known as Mission Akash Ganga, is planned to last 14 days, during which the crew will conduct around 60 scientific experiments spanning life sciences, technology demonstrations, and material sciences. Many of these experiments are led by Indian researchers and involve international collaboration.

ISRO Chairman Dr. V Narayanan confirmed the new launch time of 5:30 PM IST on June 11, 2025. Group Captain Shukla remains in pre-launch quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center, a standard procedure to minimize health risks before spaceflight. Despite the delay, Shukla has expressed strong confidence in the mission’s success, highlighting the meticulous preparations and the global anticipation surrounding this historic flight.