Axiom Space’s next astronaut mission to the ISS with SpaceX delayed to spring 2025

Axiom Space’s next astronaut mission to the International Space Station will be delayed by several months, into 2025, due to required interagency approval processes.

Ax-4, the name of that private astronaut effort by Axiom Spacehad been targeted to launch no earlier than October of this year. It will now lift off no earlier than spring 2025, NASA officials announced on Friday (Aug. 9) via  X.

“The Ax-4 crew members are pending approval to fly to the orbiting lab by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel,” NASA officials wrote in the statement. The panel approves all visiting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), including professional crews, according to the European Space Agency.

Related: Meet the crew for Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission to the ISS

Axiom Space did not comment on the situation on X, nor did NASA officials provide further elaboration on the decision. The crew began training in Houston in early August for their mission, which is expected to last a couple of weeks, Axiom Space’s account stated.

Axiom runs private missions to the ISS periodically with a mix of its own astronauts, agency astronauts and privately funded spaceflyers. As Ax-4’s name suggests, it will be the fourth spaceflight operated by the Houston-based company, all of which have used SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules. The first, Ax-1flew in April 2022.

Ax-4 is commanded by an experienced retired astronaut from NASA, per ISS rules:Peggy Whitson. Whitson has already flown before for Axiom Space, but her crewmates have not: pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Polish mission specialist Sławosz Uznański of ESA, and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Uznański is a project astronaut with ESA, meaning that the agency retains him and a group of others for an option to fly missions as needs arise. But Uznański is not a full-time astronaut with ESA. Shukla and Kapu were selected separately through processes in their individual countries.

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth’s reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, “Why Am I Taller?”, is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada’s Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada’s Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada’s Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace