Axiom-4 astronauts in quarantine for 3 weeks, with no launch date in sight

The launch of the American Axiom-4 astronaut mission to the International Space Station has seen a series of delays spanning nearly three weeks, and there are indications that the mission could be further delayed. The four astronauts are prepared for their flight to the International Space Station but remain grounded and quarantined due to seemingly endless delays caused by various reasons.

The launch, originally targeted for May 29th, was pushed to June 8th, June 9th, June 10th, June 11th, with the next targeted launch date being June 19th. However, at the time of writing this report, there is no specific launch time that has been shared by the entities involved. Usually, the time of rocket liftoff is shared at least a week ahead. In this case, it is learnt that the launch will not be taking place on the targeted date of June 19th, and a new targeted date is not yet announced by the concerned organisations.

So far, this mission has been delayed owing to the replacement of parts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft, technical issues with a Falcon 9 rocket engine, unfavourable weather, a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket, and an anomaly in the Russian Zvezda module on the International Space Station. Indian Air Force test pilot and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will be the second-in-command of this mission that will ferry four astronauts to the International Space Station.

In preparation for a spaceflight, the astronauts have to maintain peak mental and physical health. A delay would mean that they must sustain that peak for a longer period of time. It must be recalled that the Axiom-4 crew have been in quarantine (technically known as a Health Stabilization Program) since the last week of May and continue to remain in isolation. Pre-launch quarantine is followed to closely monitor the astronauts’ health to avoid exposure to any last-minute illness. Quarantine is also important to ensure that the astronauts flying to the space station don’t carry any infection to the closed environment of the International Space Station, which is their destination.

It is known that the astronauts heading on the NASA Apollo Moon missions were kept in quarantine for three weeks. In contrast, contemporary astronauts are required to follow a two-week quarantine. Therefore, it is safe to say that the Axiom-4 crew have spent an unusually long time in isolation, going by contemporary spaceflight norms. Similarly, owing to multiple launch delays, Boeing Starliner crew members Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are also said to have endured long quarantines due to their spaceflight getting delayed from May 2024 to June 2024.

Opportunities for launch till June 30th or from mid-July

“In terms of launch opportunities, we have opportunities all the way to June 30th,” Dana Weigel, Manager, International Space Station Programme, NASA, had said earlier this month. 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 blast off 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 from mid-July, she added.

3 first-timers and a veteran astronaut endure endless wait

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 Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule. Peggy Whitson, America’s seniormost astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the Axiom-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. Apart from Peggy, all those aboard this mission are first-time astronauts. Therefore, the impact of these delays on the ‘first-timer’ astronauts’ families must also be factored in.

This Axiom-4 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 $64 million (Rs.550 crore) 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.

How delays affect the science experiments carried by astronauts

India's Shukla will be carrying seven experiments with him to the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. Some of the experiments involve biological material (seeds, bacteria, muscle cells) and are time-sensitive in nature. Ideally, had the launch happened on 8th June, the astronauts would have completed their mission and returned to earth by the June 22nd or so. However, with the sensitive experiments languishing on Earth for over three weeks, they too require replacement/specific care to be maintained in pristine condition.