The Ax-4 mission, including Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s journey to the ISS, has been delayed due to a LOx leak discovered during booster inspections. SpaceX announced the postponement of the Falcon 9 launch, originally scheduled for June 11, on X, indicating that additional time is needed to fix the issue before a new launch date can be set. ISRO also verified the delay, noting that the mission is crucial as it will carry the first Indian Gaganyatri, Shubhanshu Shukla, into space. The leak was detected during a seven-second hot test conducted as part of the launch vehicle preparations. The launch is postponed until the leak is addressed and required validation tests are completed.
The Ax-4 mission includes astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, representing the first mission to the ISS for each of these countries. This flight is only the second human spaceflight mission sponsored by a government in over four decades.
