India's Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission put off to June 22
New Delhi (PTI): Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station has been postponed to June 22, to allow NASA to evaluate the operations on the orbital lab after the recent repairs in the Russian section, Axiom Space announced on Wednesday.
The Axiom-4 mission, which marks the return to space for India, Hungary, and Poland, was earlier scheduled for lift-off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June 19 onboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
"NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than Sunday, June 22, for launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4," Axiom Space said in a statement.
"The change in a targeted launch date provides NASA time to continue evaluating space station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the International Space Station's Zvezda service module," it said.
The Axiom-4 commercial mission is led by Commander Peggy Whitson, with Shukla as mission pilot and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu and Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski as mission specialists.
The mission was originally scheduled for lift-off on May 29 but was then put off to June 8, then June 10 and June 11, when engineers detected a liquid oxygen leak in the boosters of the Falcon-9 rocket and NASA also detected leaks in the ageing Russian module of the International Space Station.
"The #Ax4 crew remains in quarantine in Florida to maintain all medical and safety protocols. The crew is in good health and high spirits and looks forward to launch," Axiom Space said on X.
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Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani to be India's next Chief of Defence Staff
New Delhi (PTI): Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani will be India's new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and his key task is set to be to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy.
He will succeed Gen Anil Chauhan whose tenure will come to an end on May 30.
Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country's senior-most military commander in September 2022, over nine months after the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.
The government has appointed Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as the Chief of Defence Staff, who will also function as the secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
Lt Gen Subramani is currently serving as the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat.
Prior to that, he was the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025, and was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command from March 2023 till June 2024.
As Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen Subramani's primary task will be to implement the theaterisation model to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands.
The officer is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the eighth battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985.
Lt Gen Subramani is an alumnus of Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King's College London and an MPhil in defence studies from Madras University.
In his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Lt Gen Subramani has served across a wide spectrum of conflict and terrain profiles and tenanted a host of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
He commanded the 16 Garhwal Rifles in Counter-Insurgency operations in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, the 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, and the 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector, all during a challenging operational environment.
He also has the distinction of commanding two Corps, including the Indian Army's premier strike Corps on the Western Front.
