NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX officials plan to launch the Axiom-4 mission this Sunday after a leak in the Falcon 9 rocket led to the cancellation of the June 11 launch.
NASA says the Axiom-4 mission, scheduled for June 22, will be the fourth privately funded astronaut flight to the International Space Station.
NASA specialists analyze the condition of the ISS after a recent repair of the rearmost section of the ISS service module Zvezda.
A liquid oxygen leak forced SpaceX to cancel the launch of the Axiom-4 mission, which was scheduled for June 11, despite the problem being discovered the day before.
A static fire test of the launch vehicle revealed a leak, causing a second delay in the mission's launch.
The launch on June 10 was also delayed due to strong winds.
According to SpaceX, the Axiom-4 mission will last 14 days, during which the crew will conduct 60 scientific experiments in the areas of human exploration, Earth observation, life sciences, biology and materials science.
Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space and will lead the commercial mission.
Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has been appointed as the mission's pilot.
Other members of the team include European Space Agency astronauts Sławosz Usnanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The crew will control a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A in Florida.
The previous Axiom-3 mission launched on January 16, 2024, from Kennedy Space Center and was the first commercial spaceflight with participants from European countries.
Houston-based Axiom Space is working on the first commercial space station, scheduled to launch by 2030.
Sourse: www.upi.com
