Axiom-4 spaceflight delay: Can launch on any day till June 30th, says NASA

While there is emerging concern and speculation over the repeated delays in the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, a top NASA official has said that there are launch opportunities all the way till June 30th.

Originally scheduled for launch on May 29th, the American Axiom-4 mission has been pushed repeatedly - June 8th, June 10th, June 12th, and now stands indefinitely postponed. A mix of technical reasons related to the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9 rocket, and weather have led to such events. "In terms of launch opportunities, we have opportunities all the way to June 30th," said Dana Weigel, Manager, International Space Station Programme, NASA.

Typically, every rocket launch mission has a launch window/launch opportunity- an ideal period of a few days or weeks within which the launch can take place. On each of these specific days within the launch window, there are a few minutes when the rocket can blastoff to space.

All of these launch times are precisely planned down to the second, based on various technical parameters. Which is why many rocket launch missions happen at odd hours, and no two missions(even of the same type) follow the same launch time or schedule.

In case SpaceX and Axiom Space are unable to launch in the month of June, there are opportunities in July as well, said Weigel. "Russians have a Progress cargo vehicle undocking from the International Space Station and new one docking, so we have a brief cut out for that. And then, a brief cut out for high solar beta. And then we have launch opportunities in the second week of July/middle of July. Plenty of opportunities to fly the vehicle," she elaborated.

Predominantly, only America and Russia launch crafts to the International Space Station. Therefore, the two have to plan their traffic accordingly and coordinate the arrivals and departures with regards the Space Station. This is why Dana mentioned of a break in the month of July.

Further, while launching astronaut-carrying spacecrafts to the Space Station, a technical parameter called Solar Beta needs to be factored in- it determines how much during each orbit the spacecraft is exposed to sunlight or Earth's shadow. This affects the heating or cooling of the spacecraft, ability of solar panels to generate power. For example, while circling the earth, when a spacecraft is exposed to a lot of sunlight, it could suffer overheating issues.

Announcing the latest postponement, SpaceX said, "Standing down from tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the @Space_Stationto allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post static fire booster inspections. Once complete – and pending Range availability – we will share a new launch date."

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket faces a liquid oxygen leak issue. The Falcon 9 burns a mix of rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen to generate thrust for liftoff, therefore a leak of liquid oxygen poses a serious threat.

On Monday June 9th, SpaceX has announced that there was a problem with the Thrust Vector Control system in the 5thengine of the nine-engine Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX also said that they have fixed the issue. Further, they also claimed to have fixed the oxygen leak issue, but the present scenario shows that the their claimed fix did not suffice and the leak persists. This is likely to further delay the mission.

About Axiom-4 human spaceflight mission

Axiom-4 will carry a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station, where they would stay for two weeks and perform 60 experiments.

The astronauts would be flying on the SpaceX Falcon9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule.Peggy Whitson, veteran NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight atAxiomSpace, will command theAxiom-4 mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot or second-in-command. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

This mission will facilitate the return to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, given that each nation’s first and only government-sponsored spaceflight had taken place more than 40 years ago. The Ax-4 crew members will represent their nations in Low Earth Orbit and perform scientific experiments and demonstrations that are of high national importance.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be the first Indian to fly to the International Space Station, and the second Indian to fly to space after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, who flew on a Soviet Mission in 1984. The Indian Government has paid almost $64mn(Rs.550cr) for Shukla's training and spaceflight as part of Axiom-4.

As he circles the earth, Shukla will also be performing experiments in STEM(Science, Tech, Engineering, Math), and these will be made available as recorded educational videos, as part of the Axiom-4 mission outreach activity.

In a pre-launch media briefing, Indian Astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla had said that he is excited about all aspects of the Axiom-4 spaceflight.

"As I stand at the threshold of a 14-day mission to the Space Station, I reflect on the path that has brought me here. From diverse systems to advanced platforms across continents and cultures, this training has been intense and deeply rewarding. Behind every minute in space likes months, years of preparation," he remarked. For the fortnight-long mission, I carry with me not just instruments and equipment, but the hopes and dreams of a billion hearts, he added.