Axiom 04 Mission / ISRO's Axiom Mission-4 postponed again, Shubhanshu Shukla was to fly this evening

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space journey has been postponed. The Axiom-4 mission has been postponed due to liquid oxygen leakage in the Falcon-9 rocket. SpaceX has asked for time for repairs. The new launch date will be announced soon. Shubhanshu would have become the first Indian to go to space after 41 years.

Axiom 04 Mission: Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's much-awaited journey to space has now been postponed for some more time. This historic journey to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Axiom-4 mission has been postponed for the time being. The reason for this is the liquid oxygen (LOX) leak found in SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket, for which engineers have asked for additional time to repair.

SpaceX confirmed this delay on the social media platform X, saying, "LOX leak was identified during the post-static fire booster inspection, which requires additional time to repair. Therefore we are postponing the scheduled launch of the Ax-4 mission for the time being." The company also clarified that the new launch date will be announced after the repair is completed and the launch range is available.

India's name on the threshold of space

This mission is considered historic for Shubhanshu Shukla, as he was going to become the first Indian to go to space after 41 years. Earlier in 1984, Rakesh Sharma had traveled to space under the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program.

This flight of Lucknow-born Shubhanshu was planned as a 14-day space mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the Axiom-4 mission, he was to be sent to the ISS along with three other astronauts.

Brilliant career, part of Gaganyaan mission

Born on 10 October 1985, Shubhanshu Shukla received his schooling from City Montessori School in Lucknow and then joined the National Defense Academy (NDA). In 2006, he was commissioned in the Indian Air Force and gained more than 2000 hours of flying experience on aircraft like MiG-29, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Jaguar and Dornier. Along with this, he has also done MTech in Aerospace Engineering from IIS Bangalore.

Shubhanshu Shukla is also among the four astronauts selected for India's ambitious Gaganyaan mission. This mission can be launched in 2027, and with this India will move towards a completely indigenous human space flight program.

The wait is long, but the hopes are strong

Although this delay has put Shubhanshu's dream flight on hold for a while, this hindrance is temporary. As soon as the technical improvements are completed and a new launch date is decided, India will once again be ready to send its brave representative into space.