NASA stated, that the mission of private astronauts Axiom-4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station can start already 19 June, after agency experts and their international partners complete the assessment of the air leak in the Russian segment of the station.
The Ax-4 mission had yet to start 11 June, however, the launch was delayed the day before due to the detection of a leak of liquid oxygen in one of the engines of the first stage of the Falcon rocket 9. After the successful elimination of the malfunction, it was planned to transfer the launch to 13 June, however, NASA announced another delay — this time due to pressure anomalies in the PR compartment of the Russian Zvezda module, where a small air leak has been recorded for several years.
What happened in the Russian segment?
PrK is the so-called "vestibule" or transitional chamber, that connects the docking port to the rest of the module. The pressure in this section had been steadily decreasing before, which indicated a leak, however, it has remained stable since recent renovations. NASA suggests, that or the leak is really eliminated, or air from the main part of the module enters the PRK through the sealing of the hatch, temporarily equalizing the pressure.
NASA and Roscosmos continue monitoring, to assess the state of sealing and identify possible risks to the station's safety. Meanwhile, the Falcon rocket 9 passed all checks, and technical readiness for launch is restored.
Elon Musk's comment: time to say goodbye to the ISS
Elon Musk took advantage of the opportunity, to call again for the early decommissioning of the ISS. In his posts on social networks 13 In June, he called the station "too old" and called for it to be de-orbitalized within two years. Although the company SpaceX earns billions on the delivery of crews and cargo to the ISS, Musk believes, that it is better to focus on deep space missions using the Starship.
His call is against current NASA policy, which plans to support the ISS until 2030 year, albeit with budget cuts, crew and scope of research. We will remind, that this is not the first such statement by Musk - in February he spoke in favor of completing the mission of the station as soon as possible.
What's next?
NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX are currently continuing to coordinate, to ensure a safe launch of the Ax-4, maybe already 19 June. In the case of a successful launch, the mission will be another step in the development of private flights to the ISS and, in general, the commercialization of near-Earth space.
Source: https://spacenews.com/