Axiom-4 Astronauts Successfully Reach Space Station in Dragon Capsule

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Four astronauts from the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) private mission successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday morning, June 26, 2025, after more than 24 hours traveling the orbit. The journey with SpaceX's Dragon capsule made history as the first representatives from India, Poland, and Hungary joined the space laboratory.

The launch took place on early Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 02:31 local time (06:31 GMT), from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. After liftoff, the Crew Dragon capsule named Grace—chosen by the crew themselves—began its journey towards the ISS and finally docked on Thursday morning at 07:00 EDT (11:00 GMT).

Citing Space's report, the Ax-4 mission was delayed for two weeks. The planned launch on June 11 was postponed due to high altitude winds, leaks on the launch vehicle, and air leaks observed through the ISS Zvezda module. After NASA confirmed the safe conditions, the mission was rescheduled and successfully launched without any issues.

The Ax-4 crew is led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now serves as the Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space. This mission is Whitson's fifth flight, making her the American astronaut with the longest time in space—increasing her record from 675 days to nearly 700 days after this mission.

Whitson is accompanied by three international crew members on their first space journey: Shubhanshu Shukla from India as the mission's pilot, and Sawosz Uznaski-Winiewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary as mission specialists.

During their two weeks at the ISS, the Ax-4 crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments as well as various STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education activities. The amount of research brought to the ISS this time is much higher compared to previous Axiom private missions.

The four astronauts will live and work alongside the seven Expedition 73 crew members who have been stationed at the ISS previously, namely NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim; JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi; and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Kirill Peskov, and Alexey Zubritsky.

After the mission is completed, the crew will return to Earth. However, their return time still depends on the weather conditions in the Dragon capsule landing zone in the Pacific Ocean. This moment will be the second recovery of SpaceX crew members on the west coast. This process usually takes place in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. This shift is to minimize the risk of spacecraft debris falling into the atmosphere.

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