The Ax-4 mission crew, including Polish astronaut Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a brand-new Dragon capsule, SpaceX’s Sarah Walker announced Tuesday. The astronauts, who will be the first to fly in this capsule, will have the honor of naming it.
Walker, Director of Dragon Mission Management at SpaceX, revealed that the new capsule is designated C213. The Ax-4 crew will choose its name, continuing a tradition for inaugural Dragon flights.
During an online press conference hosted by Axiom Space, Walker explained that the delay in the Ax-4 mission—originally scheduled for May 29 and later moved to June 8—was due to issues discovered during preflight testing of the new Dragon spacecraft.
“The capsule did not pass the standard pre-launch test, during which we check, among other things, the durability of the insulation of the systems. If any of the wiring fails this inspection, we have to replace it with new components and test everything again. That cost us a few days. Then we also encountered an issue with the parachutes. The ones we had planned to install in the capsule failed inspection just before assembly. We found traces of moisture in the bags they were packed in, so we had to replace the entire set,” she said.
Dana Weigel, NASA’s ISS Program Manager, added that the Ax-4 crew completed their ISS training last month at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. “The training prepared them for life aboard the station, as well as for conducting the experiments planned as part of the mission. Tomorrow, we will carry out the flight readiness review for this mission,” she announced.
As Sarah Walker added, this Thursday one of the two Dragon spacecraft currently docked to the International Space Station will return to Earth, landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. This will conclude the CRS-32 mission, during which the cargo version of the Dragon 2 capsule delivered supplies to the ISS. “The Ax-4 mission spacecraft will soon take over the now-vacant docking port,” Walker explained.
Aleksandra Bukała, Director of Strategy and International Cooperation at the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), highlighted that the Polish IGNIS mission will include 13 scientific experiments and a rich educational component.
“Over 20% of the astronauts’ time will be devoted to educational activities. This is crucial for us, as the mission is seen as a key milestone in raising awareness and interest in science within Polish society,” said Bukała.
Before launch, Ax-4 mission commander Peggy Whitson will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. A biochemist and former NASA astronaut, Whitson has spent 675 days in space. She was the first woman to command the ISS (Expedition 16, 2007–2008) and in 2009 was appointed NASA’s Chief Astronaut—the highest-ranking role in the NASA Astronaut Corps. In 2018, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Ax-4 marks the next commercial crewed mission organized by Axiom Space. The inclusion of a Polish astronaut is the result of an agreement between Poland’s Ministry of Development and Technology and the European Space Agency (ESA) to prepare and carry out the Polish scientific-technical mission IGNIS on the ISS. The Polish Space Agency is also involved as the executive agency of the project.
Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will become the second Pole in space, following Mirosław Hermaszewski.
The Ax-4 crew consists of:
-
Peggy Whitson (USA) – Commander
-
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA) – Mission Specialist
-
Shubhanshu Shukla (India) – Pilot
-
Tibor Kapu (Hungary) – Mission Specialist
The launch is scheduled for June 8 at 9:11 a.m. EDT (3:11 p.m. CEST).
The astronauts will travel aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is expected to last 14 days aboard the International Space Station.
Ph: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Source:
