Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to travel to ISS on June 19 aboard Axiom-SpaceX mission

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will fly to the International Space Station on June 19 aboard Axiom Space’s Ax-04 mission. He will conduct crucial biotech experiments in space, marking a major milestone as India’s first astronaut to reach the ISS.

New Delhi: US-based Axiom Space is now set to take Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to International Space Station (ISS) on June 19, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday.

Shukla’s flight earlier scheduled to launch on June 11, after being deferred multiple time, was postponed due to technical observations related to the Zvezda module of the ISS.

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The leak was detected in the propulsion bay during a pre-launch test.

ISRO noted that Axiom Space has informed that they are working closely with NASA to assess the pressure anomaly in the Zvezda Service Module onboard the International Space Station.

“During a follow-on coordination meeting between ISRO, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, it was confirmed that the liquid oxygen leak observed in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle has been successfully resolved,” ISRO said in a statement.

“Axiom Space is now targeting June 19, 2025 for the launch of the Ax-04 mission,” it added.

ISRO had earlier reassured its commitment to mission safety and coordination with international partners.

The mission holds historic significance for India. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station and only the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma’s flight in 1984.

Shukla will serve as the pilot of the mission alongside Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States. The other crew members include Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, both serving as mission specialists.

Once aboard the ISS, Shukla will conduct pioneering experiments related to food and space nutrition.

These experiments, developed under a collaboration between ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA, aim to enhance understanding of sustainable life-support systems, a crucial aspect of future long-duration space travel.

The research will also study the effects of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae — a nutrient-rich, high-potential food source for future space missions.

The experiment will evaluate key growth parameters and examine transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic changes in different algal species in space compared to their behaviour on Earth.