Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla made history on June 26 by becoming the first astronaut to step on the International Space Station (ISS) during the Axiom 4 mission. This exciting journey had seen several delays before it finally took off on June 25. Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, V. Narayanan, revealed the reasons behind the postponement of the originally scheduled launch on June 11. According to Narayanan, the launch was delayed after ISRO's team identified a leak and subsequently discovered a crack in the Falcon 9 booster. After careful discussion, the ISRO team made the difficult decision to back out of the launch.
No confidence in the rocket's integrity
During a recent visit to Presidency University, ISRO's chief shared the tense moments leading up to this decision. The ISRO chief shared that while managing the team, they had extensive discussion and ultimately decide not to go ahead with the rocket launch. On the evening of June 10, they let the SpaceX team know about the cancellation. The leader mentioned that his team didn't feel sure about whether the rocket was safe, and they thought it was better for everyone to delay the launch.
Confirmed the presence of a crack in the Falcon 9 rocket
The next day, SpaceX engineers confirmed the presence of a crack in the Falcon 9 rocket, which validated ISRO's decision. Initially, some had dismissed ISRO's concerns as overly cautious; however, the chief emphasized that their thorough approach proved invaluable and ultimately saved the mission. He proudly stated that today, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and the entire mission are safe. He expressed a sense of pride in India's capabilities and praised the teamwork that prevented what could have been a potential disaster.
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