Author:

SpaceX rolls its newest Crew Dragon spacecraft along with the rest of the Falcon 9 rocket stack out to the pad at Launch Complex 39 on June 7, 2025, ahead of the launch of Axiom Mission 4. Image: SpaceX The forthcoming private astronaut mission to the International Space Station managed by Axiom Space is not only its fourth such flight, but it also marks the swan song for a key part of the manufacturing side of SpaceX’s business. The mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 4 or Ax-4, features the debut of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, tail number C213. This has been billed by SpaceX as its fifth and final Dragon capsule. “This is the first flight for this Dragon capsule and I can’t think of a better way for this capsule to enter the fleet than by flying this international crew,” said William Gerstenma...

The four astronauts of Axiom Mission 4 pose together amid a dry dress rehearsal of launch day activities. Left to right: Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski. Image: SpaceX Update June 9, 7 p.m. EDT: Added comments from SpaceX on the readiness of the Falcon 9 rocket and the latest launch weather outlook Axiom Space is on verge of its fourth private astronaut mission to space in as many years. The flight, dubbed Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), will see the astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary reach the International Space Station for the first time. The four crew members, led by Axiom Space’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Peggy Whitson, will embark on a roughly two-week mission to the orbiting outpost....