Engineers say that the new launch should take place on June 19. The flight had previously been postponed due to a malfunction in the launch vehicle and then due to an air leak in the Russian module of the ISS, which caused further discussions about the early decommissioning of the station.
New date
The previously postponed Ax-4 private mission, organized by Axiom Space, is scheduled to fly into space on June 19. This was reported by NASA representatives working with both the flight organizers and SpaceX, whose rocket and spacecraft are being used in this flight.
The entirely private Ax-4 mission was scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on June 11. In addition to crew commander Peggy Whitson, representatives from India, Poland, and Hungary were also scheduled to travel into orbit. However, shortly before takeoff, a liquid oxygen leak was discovered in one of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle’s engines.
The problem was solved within a day, but immediately afterwards NASA announced that there was a problem with the Russian module to which the capsule was supposed to dock. Air was leaking from it.
This time, Russian and American engineers put forward their own versions of what caused it. In the end, everyone agreed that this problem had been resolved, but for some time no new launch date was announced.
Doubts about the ISS
And now the new launch date for Ax-4 has been announced, and we can expect the mission to be successful. However, the problems that arose last week caused considerable doubt and discussion. However, this does not apply to the concept of tourist flights into space, but rather to the condition of the ISS.
The bad condition of the ISS has been known for a long time. By 2030, it is planned to decommission it and replace it with private stations. However, they are still far from being implemented. However, none other than Elon Musk suggests not waiting that long and abandoning its operation much earlier, in just two years.
At the same time, the billionaire says that the station is unnecessary, because now he has his Starship spacecraft. But he does not know the answer to the question of how they can be used to organize long-term experiments in orbit.
Musk has made similar statements before, and they have been heeded. He is no longer the head of DOGE, so his words are paid much less attention to. Meanwhile, although NASA’s draft budget for 2026 provides for a reduction in expeditions to the station, it indicates that no one intends to abandon it completely before 2030.
According to spacenews.com
