SpaceX launches star-studded Axiom Mission 4 with historic international Crew

Before sunrise on June 25, SpaceX lit up the Florida sky with the launch of Axiom Mission 4 and it wasn’t just a technical feat, it was a global moment.

Lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 2:31 a.m., the Falcon 9 rocket carried four astronauts into orbit aboard the Dragon capsule “Grace.” The crew includes former NASA star Peggy Whitson, along with Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Sławosz Uznanski-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.

For all three countries, it’s their first human presence in space in over 40 years.

The crew is now en route to the International Space Station, with docking scheduled for early Thursday. Over a two-week stay, they'll run more than 60 experiments, including tech demonstrations and medical research, representing input from 31 nations.

The mission also signals what’s ahead: Axiom Space is working toward building the first commercial space station as the ISS prepares for retirement.