Artykuły o Axiom Space

[kanarkusmaximus]

Coś o Axiom-5: John McFall został uznany za gotowego do lotu kosmicznego.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/07/19/disabled-british-astronaut-john-mcfall-cleared-space-travel/

[Orionid]

Hungary and Poland to join India on Ax-4
Jeff Foust August 5, 2024


A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station during Axiom Space's Ax-2 private astronaut mission in May 2023. Credit: NASA

LOGAN, Utah — Astronauts from Hungary and Poland will fly alongside an Indian astronaut on Axiom Space’s next private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (...)

The two mission specialists for Ax-4 are Sławosz Uznański of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. Uznański is a European Space Agency reserve astronaut selected in 2022, eligible for specific missions like this. Poland announced in August 2023 that it, in cooperation with ESA, signed an agreement to fly an astronaut on a private mission. Sweden signed a similar agreement earlier in 2023 and flew its ESA reserve astronaut, Marcus Wandt, on the Ax-3 mission early this year. (...)

Absent from the announcement was a date for Ax-4. NASA is holding a launch date of as soon as November for the mission, the agency said at a recent briefing, but a slip to at least early 2025 is considered likely. (...)
https://spacenews.com/hungary-and-poland-to-join-india-on-ax-4/

Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut crew named, begins training in Houston
August 5, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith [SFN]


The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft is pictured docked to the space-facing port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module. Dragon Freedom carried four Axiom Mission-2 astronauts to the orbital lab on May 22, 2023, including Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, and Mission Specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. Image: NASA

The full crew of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station was announced on Monday as they officially began training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. (...)

The Polish government is sponsoring the seat of Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański with support from the European Space Agency (ESA), the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT) and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA).
He will become the second so-called “project astronaut” to fly to space, following Marcus Wandt’s journey to the orbiting outpost during the Ax-3 mission. ESA defines this as those who are “hired as ESA staff on a fixed-term contract and have posts that are linked to a specific flight or project… The length of a project astronaut’s contract is directly connected to the duration of their mission.”

“ESA is continuing to support its Member States with exploration though commercial access to space. With the upcoming Axiom 4 mission, ESA is working closely with Poland and helping drive forward technological advancements, highlighting Poland’s capabilities in space exploration and is a crucial step in advancing its technological expertise” said Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration.

40-year comebacks

The launch of Shukla, Uznański and Kapu mark milestone returns to space for their respective countries after more than 40 years each. (...)
https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/08/05/axiom-spaces-fourth-private-astronaut-crew-named-begin-training-in-houston/


40 years after astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shubhanshu Shukla is the first Indian to travel to space: Here's how is gearing up for ISS


40 years after astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shubhanshu Shukla is the first Indian to travel to space: Here's how is gearing up for ISS

In a monumental step for India's space program, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will pilot the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025, TOI has reported.

This mission will mark India's first human presence aboard the ISS and its second government-sponsored human spaceflight in more than four decades, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma's 1984 mission with the Soviet Union.
https://www.msn.com/en-in/entertainment/bollywood/40-years-after-astronaut-rakesh-sharma-shubhanshu-shukla-is-the-first-indian-to-travel-to-space-here-s-how-is-gearing-up-for-iss/ar-AA1qU32K#

This billionaire’s startup wanted to build a space station. Now it can barely pay its bills
By Jeremy Bogaisky Published on September 18, 2024



With SpaceX and NASA as partners, Axiom pioneered commercial space flight to the International Space Station. Its next act was to be a commercial space station of its own. But missteps, dire financials and delays have sent it spiralling out of trajectory.

Axiom Space, a startup cofounded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian, has a lofty goal: to build private space stations that allow humans to live and work off-planet en masse.

But lately the Houston-based company has been grappling with a more earthly concern — a struggle for survival. According to internal documents, seven former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to nondisclosure agreements, and space industry experts, a severe cash crunch, business challenges and a cold reception to its latest fundraising efforts have hamstrung Axiom and led to extensive layoffs and pay cuts. (...)
https://www.forbes.com.au/news/leadership/space-startup-axiom-can-barely-pay-its-bills/

ISRO, ESA collaborate on Axiom-4, research experiments
Dec 21, 2024
https://www.uniindia.com/news/south/isro-esa-collaboration/3350944.html
https://news24online.com/india/isro-sign-agreement-with-european-space-agency-know-about-deal-in-detail/415504/

[Orionid]

Opóźnienie z powodu dodatkowych prac przy C-213

Axiom Mission 4 delayed due to Dragon capsule readiness
May 14, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith [SFN]


Ax-4 Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, and Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski

have been training to live and work aboard the space station for the past eight months in preparation for their mission, which is targeted to launch no earlier than June 8, 2025. Image: Axiom Space[/i]

The debut of the fifth and planned final Dragon spacecraft is going to take a bit longer. The vehicle, tail number C213, will won’t be ready to support the flight of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station until next month. (...)

“After reviewing the International Space Station flight schedule, NASA and its partners are shifting launch opportunities for several upcoming missions,” NASA said in a statement on Wednesday. “The schedule adjustments provide more time to finalize mission plans, spacecraft readiness, and logistics.”

The C213 Dragon spacecraft impacted multiple missions due to its delayed readiness over the years. Back in November 2022, Sarah Walker, SpaceX Director of Dragon Mission Management, said the company was building its fifth Cargo Dragon to “carry us into the future and make sure we can support as many flights as our customers want to fly with us.” (...)

https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/05/14/axiom-mission-4-delayed-due-to-dragon-capsule-readiness/

SpaceX: członkowie misji Ax-4 polecą na orbitę w nowej kapsule Dragon
21.05.2025


16.04.2025 PAP/Radek Pietruszka

(...) Podczas wtorkowej konferencji prasowej, zorganizowanej online przez firmę Axiom Space, Sarah Walker poinformowała też, że opóźnienie startu Ax-4 – pierwotnie planowanego na 29 maja, potem przesuniętego na 8 czerwca – było spowodowane problemami właśnie z nowym statkiem Dragon.

„Kapsuła nie przeszła standardowego testu przed startem. Podczas niego sprawdza się m.in. wytrzymałość izolacji urządzeń. Jeśli przewody nie przejdą tej kontroli, musimy je wymienić na nowe i ponownie przetestować. Kosztowało nas to kilka dni. Następnie napotkaliśmy również problem ze spadochronami. Te, które planowaliśmy zainstalować w kapsule, nie przeszły kontroli tuż przed montażem. Wykryliśmy ślady wilgoci w workach, w które były zapakowane, musieliśmy więc wymienić cały zestaw” – wyjaśniła szefowa misji Dragon.

Podczas konferencji kierowniczka programu Międzynarodowej Stacji Kosmicznej w NASA Dana Weigel powiedziała, że załoga Ax-4 zakończyła w ubiegłym miesiącu w Centrum Kosmicznym im. Johnsona w Teksasie szkolenie z pobytu na ISS. „Szkolenie przygotowało ich do życia na pokładzie stacji, a także do przeprowadzenia badań zaplanowanych w ramach misji. Jutro przeprowadzimy przegląd gotowości lotu dla tej misji” – zapowiedziała. (...)

Kierowniczka projektu, dyrektorka Departamentu Strategii i Współpracy Międzynarodowej Polskiej Agencji Kosmicznej (POLSA) Aleksandra Bukała zaznaczyła w czasie konferencji, że polska misja naukowo-technologiczna IGNIS na ISS zakłada nie tylko przeprowadzenie 13 eksperymentów naukowych, ale też ma bogaty program edukacyjny.

„Ponad 20 proc. czasu astronautów zostanie poświęcone na działania edukacyjne. To dla nas bardzo ważne, ponieważ misja ta jest postrzegana jako jeden z ważnych kamieni milowych w przyciąganiu uwagi i zwiększaniu świadomości na temat nauki w polskim społeczeństwie” – powiedziała przedstawicielka POLSA.

Zanim czworo członków załogi Ax-4 wystartuje na orbitę, dowódczyni misji Peggy Whitson zostanie wprowadzona do amerykańskiej Galerii Sław Astronautów (Astronaut Hall of Fame). Biochemiczka i była astronautka NASA spędziła do tej pory w kosmosie 675 dni. Jako szefowa misji Expedition 16 (2007-2008) była pierwszą kobietą dowódcą na ISS; w 2009 r. została mianowana głównym astronautą NASA – to najwyższe stanowisko w Korpusie Astronautów NASA. W 2018 r. Whitson znalazła się na liście 100 najbardziej wpływowych osób opublikowanej przez magazyn „Time”. (...)

https://naukawpolsce.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C107937%2Cspacex-czlonkowie-misji-ax-4-poleca-na-orbite-w-nowej-kapsule-dragon.html

The Company Helping Build the Next Space Station Is Launching to the ISS
by Jeffrey Kluger Jun 6, 2025 1:00 PM CET

An artist's rendering of the Axiom station in orbitAxiom Space

The 14-day Ax-4 mission is being flown with an eye toward a more distant goal. This flight and the previous three have been dress rehearsals both for crews and for Axiom’s onsite mission control, providing critical experience working in orbit and managing activities from the ground. That patient practice will be put to use in 2027 when the first Axiom space station module goes aloft and docks with the ISS. Over the course of the following three years, four more modules will be sent up and dock with the one already there, with the new cluster serving as a semi-autonomous space station budding from the larger existing one. In 2030, not long before the ISS is deorbited, the Axiom station will undock and become its own free-floating lab.

The first module, known as the payload, power, and thermal module (PPTM), will, as its name suggests, provide power, temperature control, and storage space for the new station. Following the PPTM will come one airlock module, two habitat modules, and a research and manufacturing module (RMF), where the onboard science will be performed. The RMF also includes a windowed enclosure similar to but much larger than the ISS’s cupola, providing 360-degree views of the Earth below and the surrounding space.

“It’s way bigger than the cupola,” says Whitson. “It’s going to be an immersive experience, where you can get your whole body inside. It will be like doing a spacewalk without having to put a spacesuit on.”

Axiom does not rule out adding more modules still down the line, especially as the company attracts private sector and government customers willing to pay to have experiments run and hardware tested in microgravity. The space community has gotten spoiled in the past 25 years, with a rotating corps of international astronauts always at work, always in orbit, making their homes aboard the ISS. The station may not attract the global excitement that the old Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions did, but we will surely miss it when it’s gone. Axiom Space is prepared to fill that void. (...)

https://time.com/7290848/axiom-mission-4-launch-international-space-station/

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch fourth commercial Axiom mission to the space station
June 9, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith


The four astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 pose together amid a dry dress rehearsal of launch day activities. Left to right: Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. Image: SpaceX
https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/06/09/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-fourth-commercial-axiom-mission-to-the-space-station/

SpaceX to debut its fifth and final Crew Dragon spacecraft on Axiom Mission 4
June 10, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith


SpaceX rolls its newest Crew Dragon spacecraft along with the rest of the Falcon 9 rocket stack out to the pad at Launch Complex 39 on June 7, 2025, ahead of the launch of Axiom Mission 4. Image: SpaceX

The forthcoming private astronaut mission to the International Space Station managed by Axiom Space is not only its fourth such flight, but it also marks the swan song for a key part of the manufacturing side of SpaceX’s business.

The mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 4 or Ax-4, features the debut of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, tail number C213. This has been billed by SpaceX as its fifth and final Dragon capsule.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/06/10/spacex-to-debut-its-fifth-and-final-crew-dragon-spacecraft-on-axiom-mission-4/

[Orionid]

Shubhanshu Shukla's space launch delayed six times: Here are the reasons
Published On: Jun 13, 2025

(...)
REASONS BEHIND DELAY

1 The launch, originally targeted for May 29, 2025, was deferred to June 8, 2025, due to observations related to the electrical harness in the Crew Dragon module.

2 The launch was further postponed by one day to June 9, 2025, due to delays in the readiness of the Falcon 9 vehicle.

3 The launch date was subsequently postponed to June 10, 2025, owing to unfavourable weather conditions in the ascent corridor.

4 During preparations for the hot fire test on June 8, 2025, an additional oxygen leak was observed in the engine bay. Furthermore, an anomaly was detected in one of the engine actuators, which was replaced along with its controller. With expectations of a swift resolution to the LOX leak issue, the launch was rescheduled to June 11, 2025.

5 On June 10, 2025, during a technical review between Axiom, SpaceX, and the Isro delegation, ISRO recommended performing in-situ repairs or replacements and conducting a low-temperature leak test to verify system performance and integrity before granting launch clearance.

6 On June 11, 2025, Nasa reported that it is coordinating with Roscosmos to assess a new pressure signature suggesting a leak in the aft-most segment of the ISS Zvezda Russian Service Module, following a recent repair attempt. To allow further evaluation and determine if additional troubleshooting is needed, the Axiom-4 mission launch is being postponed.

Nasa officials have emphasised that multiple launch windows are available through June and July, but a new date will only be announced once all safety concerns are resolved.

This cautious approach highlights the complexities and high stakes of human spaceflight, especially as commercial and international partnerships expand the frontier of space exploration.

The mission, which would mark India's return to human spaceflight after 41 years, was rescheduled for June 11, 2025, but now faces an indefinite delay.
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/shubhanshu-shuklas-space-launch-delayed-six-times-here-are-the-reasons-2740203-2025-06-13

[Orionid]

NDTV Exclusive: Close Call For Musk's SpaceX Rocket: How ISRO Helped Avert Space DisasterThe fault was observed following a demand for due diligence from the Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman, Dr V Narayanan.
Written by: Pallava Bagla Edited by: Divyam Sharma India News Jun 14, 2025 21:55 pm IST Published On Jun 14, 2025 16:59 pm IST Last Updated On Jun 14, 2025 21:55 pm IST

(...) Sources told NDTV that the Hungarian and Polish teams supported the stand taken by the Indian delegation. The leadership of Axiom Space is also relieved by the 'Safety-first, Launch-later' stand taken by ISRO. The Indian space organisation's handling of the situation is appreciated by many at Cape Canaveral.

The cracked line has since been replaced, but Dr Narayanan asserts that "safety and mission integrity remain our top priorities". Experts say the crack could have fractured the fuel line since massive vibrations take place at liftoff. (...)
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/crack-on-astronaut-shubhanshu-shuklas-rocket-how-isros-intervention-averted-fatal-disaster-8667532

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch fourth commercial Axiom mission to the space station
June 9, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith
Update June 24, 6:38 p.m. EDT: Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX are targeting Wednesday, June 25 for the mission launch.


The four astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 pose together amid a dry dress rehearsal of launch day activities. Left to right: Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. Image: SpaceX
https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/06/09/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-fourth-commercial-axiom-mission-to-the-space-station/

[Orionid]

Fourth Axiom Space private astronaut mission launched to ISS
by Jeff Foust June 25, 2025


A Falcon 9 lifts off June 25 on Axiom Space's Ax-4 private astronaut mission to the ISS. Credit: SpaceX webcast

WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station June 25 after weeks of delays. (...)

“Grace is more than a name. It reflects the elegance with which we move through space against the backdrop of Earth,” she said. “Grace reminds us that spaceflight is not just a feat of engineering but an act of goodwill for the benefit of every human everywhere.”
https://spacenews.com/fourth-axiom-space-private-astronaut-mission-launched-to-iss/

Ax-4 launch sees 1st Indian, Pole, Hungarian enter space in 40+ years

June 25, 2025 — Astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary have embarked on a two-week science research mission, marking a "return to human spaceflight" for each of their countries after more than 40 years.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-062525a-axiom-mission-4-ax4-launch-india-hungary-poland.html

With 'Grace': Astronauts name SpaceX's final Dragon crew capsule

June 25, 2025 — The last Dragon spacecraft that SpaceX plans to build entered orbit for the first time with "grace."

Taking flight on Wednesday (June 25) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the capsule lifted off with Axiom Space's fourth crew to visit the International Space Station. Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson revealed the spacecraft's name just as it separated from its rocket's upper stage to begin its maiden mission.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-062525a-axiom-mission-4-ax4-grace-dragon-capsule-name.html

[Orionid]

India, Poland and Hungary make spaceflight comeback with ISS mission
Agence France-Presse Wed 25 Jun 2025 13.28 CEST


Tusk watching the launch at the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw. Photograph: Radek Pietruszka/EPA

Countries send their first astronauts in decades into space on Axiom Mission 4, along with US commander

(...) The last time India, Poland or Hungary sent people to space, their current crop of astronauts had not yet been born – and back then they were called cosmonauts, as they flew on Soviet missions before the fall of the iron curtain. (...)

India’s space agency, ISRO, sees this flight as a key stepping stone towards its own maiden crewed mission, planned for 2027 under the Gaganyaan programme, meaning “sky craft” in Hindi.

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, hailed the successful launch of the Ax-4 space mission. “[Shukla] carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. Wish him and other astronauts all the success!” he wrote on X.

While onboard the ISS, Shukla is widely expected to speak with Modi, in a soft-power moment aimed at stoking national pride.

All three countries are footing the bill for their astronauts. Hungary announced in 2022 it was paying $100m for its seat, according to spacenews.com. India and Poland have not disclosed how much they are spending. (...)
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jun/25/india-poland-hungary-us-astronauts-iss-axiom-mission-4