New Delhi, 9 June

Axiom Space's mission to the International Space Station, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others, has been postponed for lift-off to Wednesday evening due to inclement weather conditions at the spaceport in Florida, ISRO chairman V Narayanan said on Monday.

The Axiom-4 mission, which marks the return to spaceflight for India, Poland and Hungary, was earlier scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Tuesday at 5.52 pm IST.

"Due to weather conditions, the launch of Axiom-4 mission for sending Indian Gaganyatri to International Space Station is postponed from 10th June 2025 to 11th June 2025. The targeted time of launch is 5.30 pm IST on 11th June 2025," the ISRO chairman said in a post on X.

The launch of SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket had to be postponed due to "high winds in the ascent corridor", Elon Musk-led SpaceX said in a post on X.

"Launch is targeted for 8.00 am ET (5.30 pm IST), with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, 12 June at 7.37 am ET (5.07 pm IST)," SpaceX said in an update to the mission.

Shukla's travel to space marks India's return to human spaceflight 41 years after Rakesh Sharma scripted history by undertaking a journey to space onboard Soviet Russia's Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.

The Lucknow-born Shukla, who goes by the call sign Shuks', is part of an ISRO-NASA supported commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space where all the customers are national governments.

The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, set for lift-off from Launch Complex 39A of the KSC in Florida, comprises Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shukla and specialists Tigor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland.

The 14-day mission will "realise the return" to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary.

The Ax-4 crew and SpaceX teams completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities on Sunday ahead of liftoff.

"A proud global acknowledgement of India's Space capabilities '“ a befitting tribute to the founding fathers Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan," Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said.

During the 14-day stay at the ISS, the Ax-4 crew is expected to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, school students, and space industry leaders among others.

Shukla is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA.

ISRO has lined up a set of seven experiments for Shukla, who will also participate in five joint studies planned by NASA for its human research program.

Shukla's experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the ISRO's Gaganyaan space flight mission which is planned for 2027. ISRO is spending Rs 550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.