SpaceX soared back into the spotlight on Wednesday as its latest Crew Dragon capsule, Axiom Mission 4Ax-4lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket, this mission is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Thursday at around 1100 GMT and stay for up to 14 days.
On board are pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary, and commander Peggy Whitson of the United States. Whitson, a veteran NASA astronaut turned Axiom Space executive, is leading the crew on this private flight.
Shukla makes history as the first Indian in space since 1984, when air force pilot Rakesh Sharma visited the Salyut 7 station. Neither Poland nor Hungary has sent astronauts into orbit since the Soviet era before the fall of the Iron Curtain, making this a landmark moment for all three nations.
Originally set for early June, the Ax-4 launch faced technical delays. It also comes in the wake of public jabs exchanged online between the former US president and SpaceX chief Elon Musk. Despite the drama, Ax-4 achieved orbit and became the first flight for Crew Dragon Grace, the fifth and final capsule in the active fleet alongside Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance and Freedom.
As private missions like Ax-4 expand the frontier, a new wave of international collaboration is taking shape. With global crews and commercial partners, the future of space travel looks more diverse and dynamic than ever.
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SpaceX's brand-new Crew Dragon capsule takes astronauts to the ISS
cgtn.com
