NASA Welcomes Axiom Mission 4: Fourth Private Astronaut Crew Heads to International Space Station
NASA is set to welcome the fourth all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking a significant milestone in expanding access to space through commercial partnerships.
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Cape Canaveral, FL – June 26, 2025:
NASA is set to welcome the fourth all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking a significant milestone in expanding access to space through commercial partnerships.
At 2:31 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew aboard a Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission includes four international private astronauts:
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Peggy Whitson (USA) – Mission Commander, former NASA astronaut, now Director of Human Spaceflight at Axiom Space
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Shubhanshu Shukla (India) – ISRO astronaut and pilot, the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS
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Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland) – ESA Project Astronaut and Mission Specialist
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Tibor Kapu (Hungary) – HUNOR astronaut and Mission Specialist
International Collaboration Reaches New Heights
The Ax-4 mission is a testament to international cooperation and public-private collaboration in space. In a statement, NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro said:
“Congratulations to Axiom Space and SpaceX on a successful launch. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, America has expanded international participation in low Earth orbit. This mission brings astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary into space for the first time in over 40 years — a powerful example of global unity in science and exploration.”
The mission is also the result of a strategic partnership between NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), delivering on a joint commitment by President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send the first Indian astronaut to the ISS. The mission includes five joint science investigations and two in-orbit STEM demonstrations.
Docking and Welcome at the Space Station
Live coverage of the Dragon spacecraft’s arrival at the ISS will begin at 4:30 a.m. EDT, Thursday, June 26, on NASA+. The spacecraft is ahead of schedule and is expected to autonomously dock around 6:30 a.m. to the space-facing port of the Harmony module.
Once aboard, the private crew will be welcomed by Expedition 73 members:
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NASA astronauts Nicole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Jonny Kim
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JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi (Japan)
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Roscosmos cosmonauts Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritsky (Russia)
Mission Goals: Research, Education & Commercial Innovation
Over the two-week mission, the Ax-4 crew will engage in:
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Microgravity research
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Educational outreach programs
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Commercial technology demonstrations
These activities are part of NASA’s broader strategy to build a sustainable economy in low Earth orbit (LEO). The agency aims to become a customer, not the sole operator, by leveraging private industry for services, allowing NASA to focus resources on Artemis lunar missions and future Mars exploration.
