The launch of the Axiom-4 mission carrying India’s first Gaganyatri to the International Space Station has been postponed from June 10 to June 11 due to unfavourable weather. ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan today posted on ‘X’ that the launch is now targeted for 5:30 p.m. IST on Wednesday. The mission, a joint effort by Axiom Space, NASA, SpaceX and ISRO, will carry four astronauts to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Among them is Group Captain of the Indian Air Force Shubhanshu Shukla, 41, of the Indian Air Force, who will become the first Indian to visit the space station.

Shubhanshu trained in Russia and the United States as part of India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight program. He will conduct microgravity experiments in biology, materials science and Indian space tech during the 14-day stay. The Axiom-4 mission highlights India’s growing role in international space collaboration and comes ahead of its plans to launch a national space station by 2035.