Ready for Launch: SpaceX Preparations

A four-member team is set to launch on Wednesday for a privately funded mission to the International Space Station.

The flight, organized by Houston’s Axiom Space, will take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8 am. The crew will travel into orbit aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon capsules positioned above a Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA will provide live coverage of the launch, beginning at 7:05 am ET NASA+.

Originally set for Tuesday, the launch was postponed by a day due to strong winds along the Florida coastline. This mission, named AX-4, is anticipated to last approximately two weeks at the International Space Station.

Retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who has spent a total of 675 days in space, is leading the mission. Joining her are Pilot Shuvanshu Shukra, an astronaut from the Indian Space Research Institute, Mission Specialist Sworsis Uznaviywiyyewsky, a Polish scientist with the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer from Hungary.

Shukla, Uznaskiwinievsky, and Kapu are making history as the first individuals from their respective countries to live and work on the International Space Station.

During their two-week tenure at the Orbital Lab, the AX-4 crew will conduct various scientific experiments. According to NASA, this includes muscle regeneration studies, examining how Brussels sprouts and edible microalgae grow in microgravity, and how small aquatic organisms thrive on the ISS.

If the launch proceeds as planned, the four astronauts are expected to dock with the space station around 12:30 pm on Thursday.

This upcoming flight marks the fourth crew mission for Axiom Space and will be pivotal for the International Space Station. The company’s inaugural private expedition to the ISS occurred in 2022, featuring an entirely civilian crew.

While the financial details for the AX-4 mission remain undisclosed, it has been reported that space tourists paid approximately $55 million per seat on previous Axiom missions.