SpaceX has announced that the Axiom-4 mission, which was scheduled for today, June 11, has been postponed again. The Astronautics company will announce a new date for the mission after fixing the liquid oxygen leak. The leak was detected in the propulsion bay during post static fire booster inspections. The

Taking to X (formerly Twitter),  SpaceX wrote, “Standing down from tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the International Space Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post static fire booster inspections.”

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It added, “Once complete – and pending Range availability – we will share a new launch date.”

‘Standing down from the launch’: NASA on Axiom-4 mission 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also confirmed that the Axiom-4 mission has been postponed to a later date, though no specific timeline for the launch has been provided.

“NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity on Wednesday, June 11, of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair a liquid oxygen leak identified during post-static fire Falcon 9 rocket inspections,” the space agency said in a statement. 

It said that it will announce a new launch date once the repair work is complete.

‘Mission to send first Gaganyatri to space is postponed’: ISRO

Following another postponement of the Axiom-4 mission launch, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) issued a statement explaining the decision. The space agency said the delay was made after thorough consultations with experts from Axiom and SpaceX.

“Postponement of Axiom 04 mission slated for launch on 11th June 2025 for sending first Indian Gaganyatri to ISS,” ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said in a statement. 

It added, “As part of launch vehicle preparation to validate the performance of the booster stage of Falcon 9 launch vehicle, a seven-second hot test was carried out on the launch pad. It is understood that LOX leakage was detected in the propulsion bay during the test.”

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“Based on the discussion on this topic by the ISRO team with the experts of Axiom and SpaceX, it has been decided to correct the leak and carry out necessary validation tests before clearing for the launch. Hence, the launch of Axiom 04, slated for  11th June 2025 to send the first Indian Gaganyatri to ISS, is postponed,” the statement further read.

What is the Axiom-4 mission?

Axiom-4, which is also known as Ax-4, is a planned private spaceflight to the ISS and is operated by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA. The crew will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida after the new launch date is announced. 

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

The mission was originally scheduled for June 10 but was postponed to June 11 due to bad weather conditions.