SpaceX's private Ax-4 mission launching 4 astronauts to ISS pushed to June 11 due to high winds

SpaceX's private Ax-4 mission, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), is now set to launch on Wednesday, June 11, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time Zone (1200 Greenwich Mean Time) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, it also has a backup opportunity available, which is on Thursday (June 12) at 7:37 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, per SpaceX. The launch, originally planned for Tuesday (June 10), was postponed due to high winds, as reported on Space.com. This Ax-4 mission marks Axiom Space's fourth crewed journey to the ISS, utilizing a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for its inaugural flight. 

Leading the mission is Commander Peggy Whitson, the director of human spaceflight at Axiom and a former NASA astronaut who holds the record for most days in space by an American with 675 days. She is joined by pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Polish mission specialist Sławosz Uznański (representing the European Space Agency), and Hungarian mission specialist Tibor Kapu. Notably, Shukla, Uznański, and Kapu will make history as the first individuals from their respective countries to reside on the ISS. 

As this mission marks the inaugural flight for the Dragon spacecraft, its first-stage booster is making its second journey, having previously supported a Starlink mission. After stage separation, the Falcon 9's first stage will execute a landing at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Once aboard the orbiting laboratory, the Ax-4 crew plans to undertake over 60 scientific experiments and demonstrations, focusing on areas such as human research, Earth observation, and material sciences, as reported by SpaceX. The website also mentioned the scheduled time of everything that will take place during and after the lift-off.

In related SpaceX news, the company recently completed its 70th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year, successfully deploying 26 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The Starlink 15-8 mission lifted off on Sunday (June 8) at 7:20 a.m. PDT (10:20 a.m.) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, with all satellites confirmed deployed later that day. This mission utilized the Falcon 9 booster, B1088, marking its seventh flight. This booster has a history of supporting significant missions, including those for NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office.

Just over eight minutes after lift-off, the booster made a precise landing on the droneship 'Of Course I Still Love You,' which was its 135th landing. This recovery also pushed SpaceX's total booster landing to an impressive 459. Before this flight, the first stage booster had supported NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx, NROL-57, and three prior Starlink missions. Building on this remarkable activity, SpaceX has ambitious plans to significantly increase its launch frequency in 2025, aiming for an orbital mission almost every other day.

Anne Mason, SpaceX's Director of National Security Space Launch, revealed that the company is targeting 170 launches by year-end. This aggressive schedule would represent a substantial leap from their previous record of 134 orbital lift-offs, achieved in 2024. Mason expressed her continued amazement at this high cadence, highlighting the stark contrast to 2020 when a healthy rate meant roughly 25 launches annually (twice a month). The current average of a launch every two or three days underscores the critical role of the Falcon rocket's reusability and reliability, coupled with the dedicated efforts of the SpaceX team, in ensuring consistent access to space.