New York: The launch of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, scheduled for June 11, to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed again, SpaceX confirmed in a post on X. The delay comes after a liquid oxygen (LOx) leak was detected during post-static fire booster inspections. The mission is set to send Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the ISS.
"Standing down from tomorrow's Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak," the company said. It added that a new launch date will be shared once the repairs are completed and subject to range availability.
Confirming the launch delay, the Indian Space Research Organization wrote on X, "As part of launch vehicle preparation to validate the performance of the booster stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, seven second of hot test was carried out on the launch pad. It is understood that LOX leakage was detected in the propulsion bay during the test."
