SpaceX Dragon spacecraft reaches pad 39A for Axiom Mission 4

SpaceX has confirmed that the Dragon spacecraft has reached pad 39A in Florida for its first flight with a Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Axiom Space 4 mission to the Space Station.

SpaceX, Axiom Space, and NASA are targeting Tuesday, June 10, with a launch window opening at 8:22 a.m. EDT to launch four private astronauts to the International Space Station.

The mission will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crewed Dragon will be en route to the space station after separating from the Falcon 9 rocket. The involved partners are targeting Dragon’s docking at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 11.

The crew includes Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, who will command this commercial launch. Shubanshu Shukla, an ISRO astronaut, will be the pilot.

Axiom Mission 4 Dragon Spacecraft waiting at pad 39A (Source – SpaceX)

These two will be accompanied by ESA project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisneiwski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

This mission will perform integrated operations, which will start during Dragon’s approach to the space station and will continue during the crew’s stay at the orbiting laboratory for approximately two weeks. These astronauts will also conduct science, education, and commercial activities, and wrap up the mission once Dragon leaves the station to return to Earth.

This launch also works as a collaboration between NASA and ISRO to send the first ISRO astronaut to orbit. The two space agencies have signed up partnership agreement for five science projects, investigations, and two in-orbit science, technology and engineering, and mathematics demonstrations.

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