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While this further delayed India’s return to spaceflight, it ensured that a potential disaster was prevented as ISRO insisted on thorough repairs
Axiom Mission 4 crew, from left to right, ESA astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. (Image: @NASASpaceOps/PTI)
After ISRO demanded due diligence, a major disaster was averted with the timely detection of a fault in the Falcon-9 rocket, which is the Russian module of the ISS.
While this has further delayed India’s return to spaceflight as part of the Axiom-4 private mission, it ensured that a potential disaster was prevented as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) insisted on thorough repairs. The fault was detected after a demand for due diligence by chairman Dr V Narayanan, reported NDTV.
“NASA and Axiom Space are postponing the launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station,” a NASA statement said on June 12.
Falcon-9 will carry India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, along with three other astronauts, and is scheduled to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 commercial mission. But this has now been put on indefinite delay as the space agencies involved address issues that have cropped up ahead of the launch.
“Safety and mission integrity remain our top priorities,” Narayanan said in a post on X.
Narayan said ISRO is working closely with Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX, as they responsibly address the ISS Zvezda module observation causing the delay. The astronauts were originally scheduled for lift-off on May 29, which was put off to June 8, June 10 and June 11.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
SpaceX, the providers of the launch rocket and the space capsule, detected a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 rocket in the form of a “crack”.
Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, will command the commercial mission, while Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The 14-day mission will “realise the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary. “Setbacks and delays are a normal part of spaceflight. Our Ax-4 crew remains upbeat and looking forward to a safe and successful flight to the Space Station,” Whitson said in a post on X.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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