Ax-4 Mission Postponed Until a "Later Date"
Propellant Leak in Refurbished Booster is the Culprit
SpaceX has stood down from Falcon 9's launch of the Axiom Space Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station. The mission was scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, June 11, but was scrubbed to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post static fire booster inspections. Once complete – and pending Range availability – a new launch date will be announced.
This is the first flight for the Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission. This will be the second flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched a Starlink mission. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments and demonstrations focused on human research, Earth observation, and life, biological, and material sciences.
According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station. This historic mission underscores how Axiom Space is redefining the pathway to low-Earth orbit and elevating national space programs globally.
The mission and its commercial crew will spend up to 14 days docked to the station to carry out their assigned tasks.