FILE VIDEO: Axiom Mission 3 launched a private crew to the International Space Station.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – An active investigation into a leak repair on the International Space Station continues to cause NASA to shift the launch of four private astronauts on the Axiom Space Mission 4.
The Axiom Mission 4 crew was set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft last week from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but a leak with SpaceX‘s rocket at the space station has delayed the private mission. Then the mission faced an additional delay after NASA said it needed more time for an ongoing investigation to understand a “new pressure signature, after the recent post-repair effort” on the space station’s Zvezda service module.
Roscosmos cosmonauts recently completed repair work on the service module to stop the leak, which has been monitored by flight controllers for a few years. NASA said after the repairs, the pressure remained stable in the transfer tunnel and the hatch seal between the ISS and the back of the Zvezda module. Previously, the pressure would have dropped in this area, indicating the small leaks may be fixed, according to NASA.
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“Teams are making progress evaluating the transfer tunnel configuration, resulting in an updated launch opportunity for the private astronaut mission,” NASA said.
Axiom Space and NASA are no longer targeting a launch this week, according to the latest mission update. Axiom Space and SpaceX said the launch could happen no earlier than Sunday at 3:41 a.m. ET. There is a backup launch opportunity available at 3:20 a.m. ET Monday.
Live launch coverage will begin at 1:35 a.m. ET on the social channels of both Axiom Space and SpaceX.
The crew for the Axiom Mission 4 private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Commander Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
(Axiom Space/SpaceX / FOX Weather)
Meanwhile, on the ground, SpaceX teams repaired the liquid oxygen leak on the Falcon 9 rocket and completed another wet dress rehearsal, clearing the way for liftoff.
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The Axiom Mission 4 is commanded by Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and includes Indian Space Research Organization astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, European Space Agency project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, of Hungary.
With the current schedule, the Dragon will dock at the ISS’s Harmony module at 10:43 a.m. Monday.
While on station, the 14-day private mission astronauts will conduct dozens of experiments and scientific research on the orbiting lab.
