🚀 Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon C213 | 🛰 Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)
Launch date: June 11, 2025 12:00 UTC
Payload: Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)
Location: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Vehicle: Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon C213
Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) marks the debut of SpaceX’s fifth and final Crew Dragon capsule (C213), transporting an international crew of private astronauts—Peggy Whitson (USA), Shubhanshu Shukla (India), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland), and Tibor Kapu (Hungary)—to the International Space Station. This fourth private Axiom Space mission is scheduled for launch on June 11, 2025, at 12:00 UTC. The crew will conduct nearly 60 scientific experiments from 31 countries, including research on diabetes management, muscle regeneration, medicine stability, and ocular health in microgravity. C213’s maiden flight was readied for this mission after technical preparations, and the mission was delayed from late May to ensure spacecraft readiness. The crew’s 14-day stay will be the longest yet for an Axiom mission and marks a milestone in commercial human spaceflight, further progressing SpaceX’s reusability efforts. Booster B1094 will fly for its second time, landing at LZ-1. ‘Joy,’ a baby swan plush, will serve as the zero-g indicator.
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LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is one of the most significant and iconic launch pads in spaceflight history, situated at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. Constructed in the 1960s for the Apollo program, it was the launch site of Apollo 11—the first crewed mission to land on the Moon—and later adapted for the Space Shuttle program, supporting dozens of launches over several decades.
In 2014, NASA began leasing LC-39A to SpaceX, marking a new era for the launch site. SpaceX has extensively modified the facility to support Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, and is further upgrading the pad for Starship missions. The site is a focal point for both crewed and uncrewed flights to the International Space Station, national security launches, and commercial missions, continuing its legacy as a cornerstone of American space exploration.