Axiom Space's next mission to the ISS is in the schedule

Axiom Space's next mission to the ISS, Ax-4, moved around in the schedule a bit over the last month from it's originally scheduled May 29th launch, but it's now apparently getting close to the front of the line.  The mission is scheduled to launch Sunday, Jun 8, 2025 @ 9:11 AM EDT (1311 UTC).  As with all of Axiom's previous manned launches, this will be on a SpaceX Crew Dragon from LC-39A on the Kennedy Space Center - the first mission of a brand new Crew Dragon. 

Houston-based company Axiom Space completed an internal Flight Readiness Review (FRR) on Wednesday (May 21) ahead of the launch of the company's fourth crewed mission to the ISS. Ax-4 is on track for a liftoff next month on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a multinational crew aboard a brand-new Dragon spacecraft. The mission is scheduled to get off the ground on June 8 at 9:11 a.m. EDT (1311 GMT), from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Wednesday's FRR confirmed that all systems and personnel are "go" for next month's launch, which will be the most research-intensive mission that Axiom has conducted to date. During their roughly 14-day mission, the Ax-4 crew members are slated to complete more than 60 science and outreach activities aboard the ISS.

The Ax-4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson of the U.S., in front, and the L-R around her, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Peggy Whitson retired from NASA not long ago and was one of their most experienced astronauts.  She is now Axiom Space's director of human spaceflight, and holds the U.S. record for the most cumulative time spent in space.  This relatively short mission of two weeks will bring her total to nearly 700 days spent off Earth, extending her American record.  

... Axiom Space’s Shukla, Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Kapu will represent India, Poland, and Hungary respectively, each becoming the second astronaut from their countries to fly to space and the first to reach the International Space Station.

Axiom Space's emphasis in their coverage of the mission is the "more than 60 science and outreach activities aboard the ISS," including their potential to get younger generations interested in STEM.  Dana Weigel, NASA's ISS program manager, described the mission as a "phenomenal way" to expand the space agency's research footprint on the ISS.  

The recent 2026 "skinny budget" from the Trump administration proposes a nearly 25% cut to NASA's funding, including a reduction of crew and cargo missions to the ISS. Exploration advocates have raised concerns about the agency's ability to conduct research aboard the orbital laboratory in such a budget environment.

Ax-4 could help bridge the gap, according to Weigel. A private mission like this one "really expands the breadth of what we can do with research and the number of countries, institutions, academic organizations, etc, who participate," she said. "So, my hope and my goal would be that we continue to maximize everything we can on missions like this, just to help with overall science and return on investment with station."

Axiom is planning to launch their own modules to the space station, currently targeting the first module to launch in 2027 (this has been talked about here for a while).  Eventually, they plan to complete an ISS-replacement station.  They look at this time they'll spend on the ISS as helping them develop and refine their processes, procedures, and help develop the operational experience necessary to execute the missions on the Axiom Station. 

It would be an interesting development if cutting NASA's budget and the amount of time the regular crews could stay on the ISS resulted in private companies like Axiom Space spending more time on the station and improving their chances of succeeding in their efforts to build their own space station. 

The next major mission milestone is the Launch Readiness Review (LRR), scheduled for Saturday, June 7. During the LRR, leaders from Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX will evaluate the final status of the Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon spacecraft, and International Space Station systems.