Space station leaks repaired, opening up new opportunity for fourth private mission

It seems things are returning to normal, and NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, involved in the launch of the fourth private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), now have a new date. At least, a reference, because these organizations have announced that AX-4 will take off "no earlier than June 19," the formula used to indicate that the window of opportunity for the four astronauts who will fly to the orbital laboratory is only a few days away.

It all began on June 12, when NASA and Axiom Space delayed the mission while the agency continued working with Roscosmos to understand the extent of a leak in the Russian Zvezda service module . These failures are not new, as cosmonauts have been dealing with them since 2019.

Following the latest repair, the pressure in the transfer tunnel has remained stable after a drop was detected. This could indicate that the small leaks have been sealed. Teams also believe the stable pressure could be due to a small amount of air flowing into the transfer tunnel through the hatch seal from the main body of the space station, NASA reports in a statement .

NASA explains that "it is not uncommon for the agency and its international partners to adjust launches based on changes in operations onboard the space station." Additionally, SpaceX teams repaired a liquid oxygen leak identified during inspections following the Falcon 9 rocket's static fire. Following the repairs, the company conducted a dress rehearsal of the Falcon 9.

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot the mission. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. These three crew members will be the first astronauts to travel to space from their respective countries.

The crew will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.