USA/ NASA and Axiom Space postpone the launch of the Ax-4 mission with a Polish astronaut

NASA and Axiom Space are postponing the launch of the Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA said in a statement Thursday. A member of the Ax-4 crew is Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. The delay this time is due to a leak in the Russian service module Zvezda on the ISS.

As part of the ongoing investigation, NASA is working with Roscosmos (the Russian State Corporation for Space Activities) "to understand a new pressure signal that appeared after recent repair work on the aft section of the International Space Station's Zvezda service module," it said.

Zvezda is the ISS service module belonging to the Russian part of the station.

The release said Russian cosmonauts on the ISS recently inspected the internal surfaces of the pressurized module, sealed additional areas of concern and measured the current level of leakage.

"Following these actions, the segment is currently maintaining pressure. Postponing Axiom Mission 4 gives NASA and Roscosmos additional time to assess the situation and determine whether additional corrective actions are necessary. NASA is asking Roscosmos to provide answers to specific questions regarding the Zvezda module," NASA's website says. The next launch date was not given in the statement.

The launch of the Ax-4 mission, in which Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will fly to the International Space Station, has already been postponed three times. The Falcon 9 rocket, which is to carry the Dragon capsule with the mission crew into orbit, was originally planned for May 29, and then for June 8, 10 and 11.

The reasons for the delay were previously unfavorable weather - too high wind speed in the upper parts of the atmosphere in the rocket's flight corridor, problems with the Dragon capsule and a fuel leak - liquid oxygen (LOx) - from the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket.

The Ax-4 mission crew consists of: Peggy Whitson (USA) – commander, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA) – specialist, Shubhanshu Shukla (India) – pilot and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) – specialist.

This is the fourth commercial manned expedition carried out by the American company Axiom Space. The participation of a Pole in it is the result of an agreement signed by the Ministry of Development and Technology and the European Space Agency to prepare and conduct the Polish technological and scientific mission IGNIS to the ISS. The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) is also involved in the preparations. 13 experiments and technologies of Polish scientists and companies will be taken to the ISS. Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will be the second Pole in space after Mirosław Hermaszewski.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to carry a Dragon capsule carrying members of the Axe-4 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

From Cape Canaveral Anna Bugajska (PAP)

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