Washington DC/New Delhi (National Times): In a major milestone for international space collaboration, NASA and ISRO will jointly launch Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) on June 10, marking a historic step as Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla takes flight as the mission’s pilot. The mission, facilitated by Axiom Space, will be the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and will include astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary.
The mission is scheduled to lift off on Tuesday, June 10, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, the crew will ride a newly built SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the ISS, with docking expected at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11 (local time).
This landmark mission comes as a result of commitments made by former US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pledged deeper space cooperation and a shared vision of sending the first ISRO-associated astronaut to the International Space Station.
Shubhanshu Shukla, representing India and ISRO, will serve as pilot, while Peggy Whitson, veteran NASA astronaut and Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, will command the mission. The other two crew members include Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, ESA project astronaut from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. This will also mark the first time astronauts from Poland and Hungary will stay aboard the ISS.
NASA stated that the mission will carry out five joint science experiments and two in-orbit STEM demonstrations, enhancing scientific collaboration between the U.S. and India. NASA will oversee integrated mission operations during the approach, docking, and the crew’s two-week stay aboard the ISS, which will involve scientific research, educational outreach, and commercial activities.
In an official post, the International Space Station confirmed: “Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission from Axiom Space, is targeted to launch at 8:22 a.m. ET, Tuesday, June 10, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the orbital outpost.”
This mission underscores the growing importance of public-private partnerships in space exploration and reinforces the strong bilateral cooperation between India and the United States in advancing humanity’s presence beyond Earth.
