The International Space Station won more international space stations Thursday morning, with astronauts from three countries arriving and making their first visit to the orbital lab on a private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission flying through the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Commanding the visitor’s crew is Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently an Axiom Space employee who is making his fifth trip to the station. She leads India’s Shuvansch Shukla, Poland’s Swos Uznaski, and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu.
The quartet, released by the Kennedy Space Center, made a 28-hour approach to the station, which docked at 6:31am early Wednesday. This is the debut visit to the new dragon spaceship named Grace, docked on the Zenith side for space at Harmony Port, participating in Crew Dragon Endurance, which has been docked at the station since it arrived at Crew-10 in March.
“Grace is pleased to fall into harmony,” said Peggy Whitson, AX-4 Commander, a former NASA astronaut and now an axiom-universe employee who is visiting the fifth station.
“We can’t wait to open the hatch and hug you all. We’ll see you soon,” said NASA’s Nichole Ayers, who is currently one of the crew members of Crew 10, which is part of Expedition 73 from the station.
“Welcome to the International Space Station from Houston,” a call from Mission Control came into being. “It is an honor to be part of the post base for international cooperation and exploration.”
“We are honored to be here,” replied Whitson.
The crew of the AX-4 were released from the spaceship before 8:30am and were welcomed by seven members of the Expedition 73. A welcome ceremony is scheduled for 9:35am, with Shukra, Uznaski and Kapu being 634th, 635th and 636th Humans being turbited.
The addition of India, Poland and Hungary will increase the number of 26 countries that have visited the space stations that have been hosting their continued crew since November 2000. Since construction first began in 1998, 288 people have flew to the station.
Axiom Space is responsible for several countries that have flew 14 customers to stations representing 11 countries from its growing list.
There are 11 people on board the station, along with four members of Crew 10 and three people who flew to the station on the Soyuz spaceship in April. This includes three NASA astronauts, three Roscosmos astronauts and one Jaxa astronaut.
For Whitson, this is his second visit to the station as an axiom employee, following three visits as a NASA astronaut. She already kept records of Americans and women in the number of days spent in space. This is expected to reach 676 people, surpassing 690 days before the AX-4 crew returns to Earth.
Previously, the crew had planned to carry out more than 60 scientific and technological experiments in 31 countries.
“You really have to run to the ground,” said Michael Lopez Elegria, a former NASA astronaut and axiom employee who was at the station between the AX-1 and AX-3 missions. “In this case, there’s 14 days to get a lot done. All the details are pre-programmed by a team on the ground in collaboration with NASA, and there’s an effort to keep that pace.”
His advice to new visitors was to stay focused, but he wasn’t overwhelmed.
“You have a great responsibility. Your family, your colleagues, your space agency, your country really counts on you, but at the same time try to enjoy it. This is generally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Original issue: June 26, 2025, 7:26am EDT
