NASA will postpone the Axiom-4 commercial mission to the International Space Station after delaying a launch that was scheduled for Sunday, the space agency said.
In a statement released Thursday, the agency said it needed to ensure the station was ready and able to accept new crew members.
The station's orbital laboratory's Zvezda service module recently underwent repairs, and NASA is analyzing data to confirm the station's interdependent and interconnected systems are ready to welcome additional people on board.
The planned commercial flight to the space station will be carried out using a SpaceX Dragon rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The crew consists of four people from different countries: the pilot will be Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, and European Space Agency astronauts Slawosz Uznański-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary will act as mission specialists.
The mission will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space.
“With our culturally diverse team, we not only advance scientific knowledge, but also foster international collaboration,” Whitson said, citing the Axiom Space website.
“Our previous missions have built a solid foundation, and with Ax-4 we will reach new heights, bringing more nations into low Earth orbit and expanding humanity’s horizons among the stars.”
According to Axiom Space, the mission will be “the largest exploration and science project ever undertaken by an Axiom Space mission aboard the International Space Station.”
In low Earth orbit, crew members will conduct microgravity experiments in the fields of biology, natural sciences, and materials science, as well as observe the Earth.
The astronauts are in quarantine, and the SpaceX rocket and Crew Dragon capsule are on standby at Kennedy Space Center.
Axiom-4 was originally scheduled to launch on June 11, but was then cancelled due to a leak in the Falcon 9 rocket.
Sourse: www.upi.com
