India's first astronaut in 41 years forced to wait for blast off after SpaceX rocket fuel leak

Shubhanshu Shukla's two-week mission on board International Space Station delayed

From left, Axiom-4 crew members Tibor Kapu, Shubhanshu Shukla, Peggy Whitson and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewksi inside the Dragon spacecraft. AFP

The launch of the Axiom-4 mission, in which India's first astronaut in more than four decades was due to fly into space, has been postponed.

Shubhanshu Shukla, a former fighter pilot, was set to fly into orbit on Wednesday but the privately organised mission was aborted after a fuel leak was detected on the SpaceX rocket.

The launch was already delayed from Tuesday because of unsuitable weather.

The flight, operated by Houston’s Axiom Space and using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule, is to be historic for India’s space sector, coming 41 years after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel to space in 1984 on board a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft.

But SpaceX said the mission, in which Mr Shukla will spend two weeks in the International Space Station, would be postponed after engineers discovered the leak in the rocket’s liquid oxygen (LOx) system during post-test inspections.

“Standing down from tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch of Ax-4 to the space station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair the LOx leak identified during post-static fire booster inspections,” the company posted on X. “Once complete, and pending Range availability, we will share a new launch date.”

Dr V. Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), said the problem had been identified during a seven-second hot fire test of the Falcon 9 booster at the launch pad.

“Based on the discussion on this topic by the Isro team with the experts of Axiom and SpaceX, it has been decided to correct the leak and carry out a necessary validation test before clearing for the launch,” he said.

Inspiration

Mr Shukla said becoming an astronaut was his childhood dream after being inspired by Rakesh Sharma. However, the lack of an active Indian human space flight programme at the time made it seem like an impossible goal. Instead, Mr Shukla pursued a career in aviation, motivated by an air show he attended as a school pupil.

“I grew up reading about him in textbooks and listening to his stories from space,” he said of Mr Sharma in a video posted by Axiom Space on Monday. “I was deeply, deeply impressed by him … I would say I have been extremely fortunate and lucky to have got the opportunity to fly.”

While Mr Shukla will become India’s second man in space, he will be the first through a commercial mission.

Anna Hazlett, founder of AzurX, a UAE-based space consultancy and investment firm, said such missions reflect the growing importance of public-private partnerships in space flight.

“Private space companies like Axiom Space are transforming human space flight, allowing nations without ISS partnerships to send astronauts to orbit,” she said.

“This model democratises space access, accelerates national space ambitions and fosters global collaboration. It helps create a more diverse space economy, which is what the new space sector is all about.”

Rakesh Sharma was India's first astronaut. He flew to space in 1984. Photo: India's Human Space Flight Centre

India’s participation in the mission also reflects its increasing ambitions in space. While the country is preparing for its own crewed mission, Gaganyaan, within the 2020s, flying a citizen to the ISS with Axiom offers an opportunity to gain experience.

Indian food on board

The Indian government, along with its defence research wing DRDO, has prepared traditional meals for Mr Shukla’s time in orbit.

Moong dal halwa (desert with lentils, ghee and milk), gajar ka halwa (carrot pudding), and aam ras (desert made with the pulp of a ripe mango) are among the space-friendly dishes he will carry to the station.

Mr Shukla also plans on practising yoga while in space, after taking inspiration from Mr Sharma who famously did yoga and described his view of India from orbit as “saare jahan se achha” (better than the entire world).

“I would probably demonstrate a few poses of yoga while we are up on the station, but a more important aspect is that we need to practise that while we are on the ground so that we have a healthy body, which can house a healthy mind and allows us to execute this mission in our full spirits,” said Mr Shukla.

He has trained for several months with his international crew mates: Ax-4 commander and veteran Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

“I do feel that I have exceptional crew mates,” Mr Shukla added. "I will have these crew members for this one flight but after this mission these are going to be my friends for life."