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Irene Klotz
August 5, 2024

Astronauts from India, Hungary and Poland will fly on the Axiom-4 spacecraft

AX-4 crew members, from left, are Commander Peggy Whitson, Co-Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Sławosz Uznański of ESA/Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

Credit: Axiom Space

Houston-based Axiom Space plans to launch a crew of non-U.S. government astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), with backing from the Indian, Hungarian and European space agencies, the latter of which has assigned its seat to an astronaut from Poland.

The two-week Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission will be overseen by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who previously commanded Axiom’s second charter flight to the ISS. Launch aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is planned for fall 2024.

“With a culturally diverse crew, we are not only advancing scientific knowledge but also fostering international collaboration,” Whitson said in a statement.

Whitson’s co-pilot will be Shubhanshu Shukla of India, one of four Indian Air Force pilots selected in February as founding members of the country’s Gaganyaan astronaut corps. He will be joined by mission specialists Tibor Kapu of Hungary and Sławosz Uznański of Poland on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) second private flight to the International Space Station with Axiom.

“Our collaboration with ESA for the second time and the inclusion of Hungary and India underscore Axiom Space’s ability to cultivate global partners, expand the scope of exploration and open new avenues to grow a global space economy,” says CEO Mike Suffredini.

The crew assignments follow agreements with the Hungarian government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 2022, and with the Indian Space Research Organisation in July to develop the countries’ technical and research capabilities in space.

The AX-4 crew arrived at Johnson Space Center in Houston on August 5 to begin training with NASA and SpaceX.

Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is a senior space editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene worked for 25 years as a wire service journalist covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.