SpaceX Rocket Launch Marks First Privately Funded Crew Trip to ISS—Meet the Axiom-4 Team

The cosmos beckons and a new era of space exploration is dawning.

Meet the Axiom-4 team, the latest crew set to journey to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX rocket as this mission marks a significant milestone: the first privately funded crewed trip to the orbiting laboratory.

Lifting Off to History

On 25 June, SpaceX's latest Dragon spacecraft embarked on its inaugural journey, carrying the four-person Ax-4 crew to the International Space Station (ISS) on behalf of Houston-based Axiom Space. This morning, the Ax-4 mission's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The lift-off occurred at 2:31 a.m. EDT (0631 GMT).

Following established practice, the crew undertaking a spacecraft's inaugural flight is granted the privilege of naming it. For this new Dragon capsule, that honour went to the Ax-4 astronauts, who, upon reaching orbit, unveiled its chosen name: 'Grace,' per an AXIOM Space report.

Initially scheduled for 11 June, the mission experienced a two-week series of postponements. High-altitude winds caused the first delay for Ax-4. A subsequent holdup stemmed from a leak in the launch vehicle, but the most prolonged and most recent delay was due to a leak aboard the ISS.

The Zvezda module, located at the station's aft, has been experiencing a continuous leak for over five years, though it remained stable. However, a change in the pressure data used to monitor the leak last week led NASA to postpone Ax-4.

They needed time to monitor the situation. On 23 June, NASA announced the new launch date for Ax-4 but did not provide a definitive update on the leak's status.

Meet The Ax-4 Astronauts

The Ax-4 crew features astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary. This mission marks a historic moment, representing each nation's first journey to the International Space Station and their second government-sponsored human spaceflight in over four decades.

• Peggy Whitson is slated to command her second commercial human spaceflight mission. This adds to her already impressive record for the longest cumulative time spent in space by an American astronaut.
• Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become India's second astronaut to journey into space since 1984.
• Sławosz Uznański, an ESA project astronaut, will be the second Polish astronaut since 1978.
• Tibor Kapu will become the second Hungarian astronaut since 1980.

Mission of Many Firsts

This mission marks the first spaceflight for the latter three individuals. They are also the first from their respective countries — India, Poland, and Hungary — to fly a mission to the ISS. For Whitson, Ax-4 is her fifth launch into orbit, extending her total time in space to nearly 700 days, further solidifying her record as the most-flown American astronaut.

The Ax-4 group will spend approximately two weeks in the orbiting laboratory. They are scheduled to conduct over 60 scientific experiments and lead various STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) outreach events during their stay. This represents the largest number of activities undertaken on any Axiom mission.

Axiom Space states that Ax-4 represents the second commercial spaceflight mission to include government and ESA-sponsored national astronauts. 'The Ax-4 mission stands as a beacon of opportunity for India, Poland, and Hungary, each poised to leverage this mission to advance their national space programmes,' says the privately funded space infrastructure developer.