Axiom, SpaceX, NASA Target Wednesday for Fourth Private ISS Mission

Approximate two-week mission comprises about 60 scientific experiments for 31 countries.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 01:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Ax-4 astronauts (from left) Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, Peggy Whitson, Shubhanshu Shukla, and Tibor Kapu are preparing for a two-week mission to the International Space Station. [Courtesy: Axiom Space]

Key Takeaways:

Axiom Space is launching its fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS) with an international crew, led by commander Peggy Whitson, following several launch delays.
The Ax-4 mission will conduct approximately 60 scientific experiments, primarily focused on human health, to gain experience and prepare for Axiom's future commercial space station.
Axiom Space plans to launch the first module of its Axiom Station in 2027, aiming to be a commercial successor to the ISS once the latter is decommissioned at the end of the decade.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The developer of a commercial space station on Wednesday plans to launch its fourth private astronaut mission to the orbital laboratory it aims to replace.

Axiom Space—which expects to launch the first module for its Axiom Station in 2027—is leading the approximately two-week International Space Station (ISS) mission, scheduled for liftoff Wednesday at 2:31 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Axiom Mission 4’s (Ax-4) four international crewmembers is expected to dock with the ISS in the early morning Thursday. The rendezvous will be streamed live by Axiom, SpaceX, and NASA. SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew to orbit.