Axiom-4 mission likely to lift off today
BENGALURU: The much-delayed Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is finally expected to liftoff at 2.31 am ET (12.01 IST) on Wednesday. Announcing this on Tuesday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said a backup opportunity will be available at 2.09 am ET (11.39 am IST) on Thursday.
The targeted docking for the satellite to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled for 7 am ET (4.30 pm IST) on Thursday, NASA said.
The NASA, ISRO, Axiom Space and SpaceX are involved in the 14-day manned mission. The mission will carry Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is also the mission pilot. Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is the backup crew member.
The duo are part of the four-member team chosen for India’s Gaganyaan mission scheduled for 2027. Shukla will be the first Indian astronaut to pilot a spacecraft. The first Indian on space was Rakesh Sharma in 1984, but he did not pilot any spacecraft.
The four astronauts will carry out 60 experiments, seven of which will be by Shukla. The astronauts will undertake experiments from 31 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, UAE, Hungary, US and Poland.
The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will travel to the orbiting laboratory on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after launch on the Falcon-9 rocket.