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Shubhanshu shukla axiom-4: Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s Axiom-4 mission flight has been postponed once again. This mission will no longer be launched on 22 June, as the evaluation of its status is still going on after the recent repair work in the rear of the International Space Station (ISS) Zvezda service module.

This is the sixth time when the launch date of this mission has been changed. NASA has said that the new date will be announced soon. This mission will take four astronauts including Shubhanshu Shukla to space. Earlier this mission was scheduled on 19 June, which was re-scheduled for 22 June.

Why was the mission stopped?

NASA and Axiom Space have said that the plan to send ISS to Axiom Mission 4 has been postponed. The statement issued by NASA said, "NASA and Axiom Space are postponing Axiom Mission-4 for International Space Station. To understand a new pressure signature, NASA is working closely with Russia’s Space Agency Roscosmos, which has surfaced after repair in the ISS Zvezda module."

Module pressure is now stable, but investigation continues

NASA reported that the Russian cosmonots on the ISS examined the surfaces inside the pressure module, sealed some places and measured the current leak rate. NASA said, "Now this part is maintaining pressure. The delay of Axiom Mission 4 will get the time to evaluate the situation and do additional tests if needed. ROSCOSMOS will answer any question about Zvezda module."

Mission has been postponed several times before

This mission was to be launched for the first time on 29 May. But due to technical reasons, it was postponed first on June 8, then on 10, 11 and 12 June respectively. After this, it was done on June 19 after the leaks in SpaceX’s vehicle surfaced, then June 22, and now it has been postponed indefinitely. NASA said in the statement, "The new launch date of the fourth private astronaut mission will be announced soon."

Who will be riding in this mission?

The mission will be launched from the dragon vehicle of SpaceX, which will fly from the launch complex 39A of the Kennedy Space Center of Florida. The mission will be commanded by NASA’s former astronaut and Axiom Space in the hands of Pagi Whitson, director of the human space flight. ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will play the role of a pilot in this mission. The remaining two missions will be specialists-Slavosh Uznaski-Visnivski (ESA’s Project Astronaut) and Hungary’s Tibor Capu.