NASA, the Axiom and SpaceX space examine the launch opportunities at the beginning of Thursday, June 19 for the fourth mission of private astronaut at the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4.
On June 12, the NASA and Axiom space delayed the mission while the agency continued to work with Roscosmos to understand the most recent repair efforts to seal the small leaks. The leaks, located in the most (rear) segment of the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station, have been monitored by flight controllers in recent years.
After the most recent repair, the pressure in the transfer tunnel was stable. Previously, the pressure in this area would have dropped. This could indicate that small leaks were sealed. The teams also consider that stable pressure could be the result of a small amount of air flowing in the transfer tunnel through the trap seal of the main part of the space station. By modifying the pressure in the transfer tunnel and by monitoring over time, the teams assess the state of the transfer tunnel and the hatching seal between the space station and the rear of Zvezda.
It is not uncommon for the agency and its international partners to adjust the launches around changes in operations aboard the space station. The teams make progress evaluating the configuration of the transfer tunnel, which led to an updated launching opportunity for the mission of private astronaut.
In addition, the SpaceX teams repaired a liquid oxygen leak identified during the post-static Falcon 9. After repairs, the company finished a FALCON’s dress rehearsal 9.
Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human space flights at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while the Astronaut of the ISRO (Indian Space Organization) Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as a pilot. The two mission specialists are the astronaut of the ESA project (European Space Agency) Sławosz Uznański-WiśNewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The crew will be the Dragon Spacex spacecraft on Falcon 9 of the Launch Complex 39a at Kennedy Space Center from NASA in Florida.
Learn more about the Station’s activities by following the Spatial Station Blog,, @Space_Station And @Iss_research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook And ISS Instagram accounts.
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