Weather delays liftoff of India's historic mission to the International Space Station by a day.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday announced that the launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, which will carry Indian Air Force officer Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), has been postponed by a day due to unfavourable weather conditions, HT reported. The mission, initially scheduled for liftoff on June 10, will now take off on June 11 at 5:30 pm IST (8 am EST) from NASA바카라™s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
The Ax-4 mission marks a milestone in India바카라™s space journey, with Shukla set to become the first Indian astronaut to travel to the ISS. His flight also represents India's second human spaceflight, coming 41 years after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's historic voyage aboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984.
Shukla will serve as pilot on the mission alongside Commander Peggy Whitson, and mission specialists Tigor Kapu of Hungary and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland. The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a 14-day stay aboard the ISS.
During their mission, the Ax-4 crew is expected to interact with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, schoolchildren, and space industry leaders, in addition to conducting a series of scientific experiments.
The SpaceX and Ax-4 teams completed full launch rehearsals on Sunday. Celebrating the moment, Union Minister Jitendra Singh called it a "proud global acknowledgement of India바카라™s space capabilities and a befitting tribute to visionaries like Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan."