NASA will participate in a media teleconference on Tuesday, May 20, at 10:30 a.m. EDT to discuss the upcoming launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). This mission marks the fourth private astronaut trip to the International Space Station (ISS), showcasing growing commercial spaceflight partnerships.
Teleconference Participants
The briefing will include key leaders from NASA and international space agencies: Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s ISS Program; Allen Flynt, chief of mission services at Axiom Space; Sarah Walker, director of Dragon mission management at SpaceX; Sergio Palumberi, ESA mission manager; Aleksandra Bukała from the Polish Space Agency (POLSA); Orsolya Ferencz from Hungary’s HUNOR; and Sudeesh Balan, project director at India’s ISRO.
About the Ax-4 Launch
Ax-4 is planned to launch no earlier than 9:11 a.m. EDT on Sunday, June 8. The mission will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft. This commercial mission will carry a multinational crew of four astronauts to the ISS for a stay involving about 60 science experiments designed for microgravity.
The Crew and Their Roles
The Ax-4 crew includes Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and now director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, who will command the mission. ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will pilot the spacecraft. The two mission specialists are ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, representing their respective space agencies.
Private Missions to the ISS and NASA’s Commercial Strategy
Axiom Missions 1, 2, and 3 were earlier private astronaut missions to the ISS, with Peggy Whitson commanding the first two. These missions helped demonstrate the growing role of commercial spaceflight in low Earth orbit.
NASA views the ISS as a key platform for building a low Earth orbit economy, where private companies provide services that NASA can buy. This approach lowers costs and allows NASA to focus more on its Artemis missions to the Moon and Mars. The ISS continues to serve as an important training and research ground for deep space exploration.
The Axiom Mission 4 launch highlights the strong collaboration between NASA and commercial and international partners in expanding human spaceflight. These private missions are paving the way for a sustainable space economy and supporting NASA’s broader goals for Moon and Mars exploration, while advancing important science aboard the ISS.
