SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Launches Ax-4 Mission to the ISS
The Ax-4 Crew flew on a brand new Dragon capsule, “Grace.”
(Cape Canaveral, Florida) SpaceX launched the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early this morning (June 25), with Falcon 9 lifting off at 2:31 a.m. ET (06.31 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and sending the four-person Ax-4 crew into orbit via SpaceX’s brand-new Dragon capsule, named “Grace.”
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched its Ax-4 mission to the ISS for Axiom Space this morning - with the four crew members traveling in a brand new Dragon capsule - at 2.31am ET (06.31 GMT); photo courtesy of Michael Cain.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched its Ax-4 mission to the ISS for Axiom Space this morning - with the four crew members traveling in a brand new Dragon capsule - at 2.31am ET (06.31 GMT); photo courtesy of Michael Cain.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched its Ax-4 mission to the ISS for Axiom Space this morning - with the four crew members traveling in a brand new Dragon capsule - at 2.31am ET (06.31 GMT); photo courtesy of Michael Cain.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched its Ax-4 mission to the ISS for Axiom Space this morning - with the four crew members traveling in a brand new Dragon capsule - at 2.31am ET (06.31 GMT); photo courtesy of Michael Cain.
The Ax-4 mission was organized by Houston-based Axiom Space, which partners with SpaceX to provide transportation to the ISS; today’s launch marks Axiom’s company’s fourth mission to the ISS to date.
SpaceX reused its Falcon 9 rocket for the launch. The first stage booster landed successfully back at Cape Canaveral shortly after liftoff, following a now-routine sequence of burns and stage separations, per Space.com.
Commanding the Ax-4 mission is Peggy Whitson, a retired NASA astronaut and the current director of human spaceflight for Axiom Space. Ax-4 marks Whitson’s fifth trip to space, pushing her career total to nearly 700 days in orbit.
"It has been more than 40 years since the first person from India, Poland and Hungary has been to space, and through this commercial space opportunity we are accelerating the national space programs in each of these three countries and creating new pathways for technological advancements," said Whitson, according to Space.com. "I’m sure this crew is going to be inspiring a whole new generation of young people."
Accompanying Whitson onboard are pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. Shukla, Uznański-Wiśniewski and Kapu will be the first astronauts from their respective nations to launch on an ISS mission.
The Ax-4 crew will spend about two weeks aboard the ISS; the astronaut’s schedule includes conducting more than 60 science experiments and demonstrations focused on human research, Earth observation, and life, biological, and material sciences, per SpaceX.
The Ax-4 launch had previously been delayed several times due to weather and technical issues, including a leak on the ISS.
The Ax-4 crew is expected to dock with the ISS tomorrow (June 26) morning at approximately 7am EST (11.00 GMT) and return to Earth in early July, with a definitive return date dependent upon splashdown conditions.
