NASA has released a sweeping investigation report into the propulsion system failures that plagued Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner during its Crewed Flight Test (CFT) last year. The report finds a cascade of hardware failures, qualification gaps, organizational breakdowns, and a culture that prioritized schedule and provider success over engineering rigor in the program.
SpaceX launched Falcon 9 early this morning, sending four astronauts on NASA’s Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 5:15 AM ET, with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard Crew Dragon capsule ‘Freedom.’
A Wednesday launch attempt for NASA’s Crew-12 mission has been scrubbed due to unfavorable weather along the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft’s flight path, pushing the next opportunity to no earlier than 5:38 AM ET on Thursday, Feb. 12th.
Following a weather review Monday, mission teams opted to stand down from the February 11 window. Conditions along the trajectory remain a concern for the new target date, though forecasters expect improvement heading into a backup window on Friday, February 13th.
The four-person crew — NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev — continues pre-flight quarantine at Kennedy Space Center as they await their ride to the International Space Station.
Go for Launch • Cape Canaveral SFS, FL • SLC-40
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Mission | Crew-12 (crewed Dragon mission to the ISS for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program) |
| Organization | SpaceX |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 |
| Launch Site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) |
| Window Opens | Thursday, 02/12/2026 5:38:00 AM (ET) |
| Window Closes | Thursday, 02/12/2026 5:38:00 AM (ET) |
| Destination | Low Earth Orbit |
| Status Info | Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources. |
| Mission Description | SpaceX Crew-12 is the twelfth crewed operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. |
| Countdown (to window open) | — |
The mission will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If the Thursday window holds, the crew would dock with the station around 10:30 AM ET on Friday.
With NASA’s announcement that Crew 12 would now target Thursday, February 12, a potential range conflict comes into focus: United Launch Alliance and the US Space Force plan to launch Vulcan on a national security mission at roughly the same time on Thursday.
Go for Launch • Cape Canaveral SFS, FL • SLC-41
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Mission | USSF-87 (two GSSAP space situational awareness satellites to near-geosynchronous orbit) |
| Organization | United Launch Alliance |
| Rocket | Vulcan VC4S |
| Launch Site | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) |
| Window Opens | Thursday, 02/12/2026 3:00:00 AM (ET) |
| Window Closes | Thursday, 02/12/2026 7:50:00 AM (ET) |
| Destination | Geostationary Orbit |
| Status Info | Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources. |
| Mission Description | USSF-87 will launch two identical Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites, GSSAP-7 and GSSAP-8, directly to a near-geosynchronous orbit approximately 36,000 km above the equator. Data from GSSAP will contribute to timely and accurate orbital predictions, improving spaceflight safety and satellite collision avoidance. |
| Countdown (to window open) | — |
Given NASA’s announcement, one must wonder if the date for USSF-87 will change, or if ULA and the Space Force will stand pat, expecting a second change to Crew 12.
Stay tuned.
Axiom Space has secured another trip to the International Space Station after NASA selected the Houston-based company for a fifth commercial crew mission to the orbital outpost.
Axiom Mission 5 could launch as early as January 2027 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with a four-person crew spending approximately two weeks conducting research and technology demonstrations aboard the station. The actual launch date will depend on spacecraft scheduling and ISS operational needs.
NASA chose Axiom through a competitive process outlined in the agency’s March 2025 Research Announcement. The selection continues a pattern of relying on private missions to maximize utilization of the aging laboratory before its eventual retirement.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the announcement as proof that commercial human spaceflight has matured from proof-of-concept flights into routine operations—capabilities the agency views as essential groundwork for lunar and Martian expeditions.
The ISS Program Office sees these commercial visits as opportunities to cultivate new markets and validate technologies while preserving the station’s scientific and diplomatic functions. As NASA works toward handing off low Earth orbit operations to private providers, missions like Ax-5 serve as both revenue generators and testbeds for the post-ISS era.
As before, the mission will fly aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, launched by a Falcon 9.
| Mission | Launch Date | Crew |
|---|---|---|
| Axiom-1 | April 8, 2022 | Michael López-Alegría (Cmdr) — USA/Spain Larry Connor (Pilot) — USA Eytan Stibbe (MS) — Israel Mark Pathy (MS) — Canada |
| Axiom-2 | May 21, 2023 | Peggy Whitson (Cmdr) — USA John Shoffner (Pilot) — USA Ali Alqarni (MS) — Saudi Arabia Rayyanah Barnawi (MS) — Saudi Arabia |
| Axiom-3 | January 18, 2024 | Michael López-Alegría (Cmdr) — USA/Spain Walter Villadei (Pilot) — Italy Alper Gezeravcı (MS) — Turkey Marcus Wandt (MS) — Sweden |
| Axiom-4 | June 25, 2025 | Peggy Whitson (Cmdr) — USA Shubhanshu Shukla (Pilot) — India Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (MS) — Poland Tibor Kapu (MS) — Hungary |
| Axiom-5 | NET January 2027 | Crew TBD |
Axiom will nominate its crew roster for Axiom 5 to NASA for its approval and international partner agencies. Selected astronauts will then complete training alongside NASA personnel and the spacecraft operator before flight.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-person Crew-11 team touched down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego early Thursday, wrapping up a mission that lasted just over five months aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov splashed down at 12:41 AM PT. SpaceX recovery crews pulled the spacecraft and astronauts from the water shortly after.
The crew came home roughly three weeks ahead of schedule due to an undisclosed medical issue affecting one of the four. Citing privacy, NASA has declined to identify which crew member is involved but confirmed the individual remains in stable condition. All four astronauts were transported to a local hospital for evaluation following splashdown—a precautionary measure to take advantage of medical resources on the ground. Presumably, the crew member with the medical issue can now begin treatment.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams on the ground at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline.”
The crew launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on August 1, 2025, and docked to the station about 15 hours later. Over the course of 167 days in orbit, they circled Earth more than 2,670 times and racked up nearly 71 million miles.
Crew-11 conducted more than 140 experiments during their stay and marked the 25th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the ISS on November 2. The mission was Fincke’s fourth trip to space, bringing his career total to 549 days—fourth-highest among all NASA astronauts. For Cardman and Platonov, it was their first spaceflight.
After a planned overnight hospital stay, all four crew members will head to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for standard postflight medical checks and reconditioning.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting Wednesday, January 14, at 5:00 PM EST for the undocking of Dragon Endeavour from the International Space Station, beginning the first medical evacuation in the orbiting laboratory’s 25-year history. If weather and all other factors are acceptable, the four-person Crew-11 team is expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego, California, at approximately 3:40 AM ET on Thursday, January 15.
NASA has published the following schedule for Crew-11’s departure:
| Time (EST) | Event |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, January 14 | |
| 3:00 PM | Hatch closure coverage begins |
| 3:30 PM | Hatch closing |
| 4:45 PM | Undocking coverage begins |
| 5:00 PM | Undocking |
| Thursday, January 15 | |
| 2:15 AM | Reentry coverage begins |
| 2:50 AM | Deorbit burn |
| 3:40 AM | Splashdown |
| 5:45 AM | Post-return media conference |
The roughly 11-hour journey from undocking to splashdown follows standard Crew Dragon procedures. Mission managers continue monitoring weather and sea states in the Pacific Ocean recovery zone, and the precise splashdown location will be confirmed closer to undocking.
NASA officials have repeatedly emphasized this is a “controlled medical evacuation” rather than an emergency return. In true emergencies, Dragon can bring crew home within hours, but the agency opted for standard departure procedures to minimize risk.
“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority,” NASA stated. “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely.”
The affected crew member remains stable. NASA has declined to identify which of the four astronauts is experiencing the medical concern, citing privacy policies. The issue first came to light on January 7 when JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui requested a private medical conference with flight surgeons.
As many of you have heard, our crew will be coming home just a few weeks earlier than planned due to an unexpected medical issue. First and foremost, we are all OK. Everyone on board is stable, safe, and well cared for. This was a deliberate decision to allow the right medical evaluations to happen on the ground, where the full range of diagnostic capability exists. It’s the right call, even if it’s a bit bittersweet.
This photo was taken as we prepared our space suits for return—a normal, methodical step in getting ready to come home, and a reminder that this decision was made calmly and carefully, with people at the center.
What stands out most to me is how clearly NASA cares about its people. Flight surgeons, engineers, managers, and support teams came together quickly and professionally to chart the best path forward. The ground teams—across mission control centers and partner organizations around the world—have been extraordinary.
We’re proud of the joint work we’ve done and the camaraderie we’ve shared, including some great songs and more than a few dad jokes. It has been a privilege to serve aboard the International Space Station—an extraordinary orbiting laboratory and a symbol of what nations can achieve together. Living and working here with our international partners has been both humbling and deeply rewarding.
This moment also highlights the strength of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and our partnership with SpaceX. Dragon provides a safe, reliable, and flexible capability to bring us home on short notice when it’s the right thing to do.
We’re leaving the ISS in great hands. The three crewmates who arrived in November will continue the mission, and they’ll be joined by Crew-12 in just a few weeks. Explore 74!
We’re grateful for the teamwork, proud of the mission, and looking forward to coming home soon—back to our loved ones and to resolving any medical questions with the best care available.
— Ad Astra per Aspera!
NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke, January 11, 2026
Interestingly, Mike Finke gave the update outside of NASA’s official media channels, instead, he posted it to his LinkedIn page. That’s not to say that NASA did not know and approve of what Finke had to say, just that he made it a personal statement from a personal channel.
The Crew-11 astronauts have spent recent days preparing for departure. A key step involves fit-checking their Dragon pressure suits—necessary because the spine lengthens and body fluids shift toward the head in microgravity, affecting torso and limb dimensions. The crew also tested suit audio and video communication systems.
Commander Zena Cardman drained water from two NASA spacesuits aboard the station—the same suits that would have been used for the January 8 spacewalk that was cancelled when the medical situation arose. Yui and Platonov continued research activities, with Platonov studying blood vessel function in microgravity and methods for preventing blood clots during spaceflight.
When Endeavour undocks, the International Space Station will be left with only three crew members—the smallest complement in years:
The trio arrived November 27, 2025, aboard Soyuz MS-28 and will remain aboard until July 2026. Williams will serve as the sole American operator for NASA’s systems and science experiments until Crew-12 arrives.
NASA and Roscosmos intentionally place astronauts on different spacecraft precisely for situations like this. The U.S. and Russian segments of the station are interdependent, requiring at least one person from each country to keep operations running.
“This is one of the reasons why we fly mixed crews on Soyuz and US vehicles,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya in a NASA press conference last Friday. “We want to make sure we have operators for both segments.”
NASA is assessing whether to accelerate the Crew-12 launch, currently targeting no earlier than February 15. The Crew-12 team includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has indicated the agency is comfortable with the gap in crew size. The station has operated with skeleton crews before—as few as two people remained aboard following the Columbia tragedy in 2003.
Asked whether an accelerated Crew-12 launch could impact Artemis II preparations at Kennedy Space Center, Isaacman was direct: “These would be totally separate campaigns at this point.” NASA’s crewed lunar mission remains on track for its February launch window.
While unprecedented for the International Space Station, medical evacuations from orbit have occurred before. In November 1985, Soviet Salyut 7 commander Vladimir Vasyutin became seriously ill after two months in space and returned early with his crewmates.
Afterward, Cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh published a diary detailing the difficult situation. Like NASA today, Soviet officials declined to identify the specific medical problem for privacy reasons, though it is generally believed to have been a prostate infection.
The Crew-11 return demonstrates the value of having crew return vehicles permanently docked at the station. Dragon Endeavour has been attached to the Harmony module’s zenith port since August 2025, ready for exactly this contingency.
NASA coverage of undocking and splashdown will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Following crew recovery, a media conference is scheduled for 5:45 AM EST on January 15.
The return will mark the end of Crew-11’s mission approximately three weeks ahead of schedule. Upon splashdown, the affected crew member will receive appropriate medical evaluation and care—the primary goal that prompted NASA’s decision to bring the team home early.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced in a press conference today that NASA’s Crew 11 would return early from the International Space Station due to an unnamed medical issue with an unnamed member of the crew. The date and time of that return has not yet been determined, and will be announced once it is determined.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov comprise Crew 11.
“Yesterday, January 7th, a single crew member on board the station experienced a medical situation and is now stable. After discussions with Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. J.D. Polk and leadership across the agency, I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew 11 ahead of their planned departure within the coming days.”
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
Regarding the specifics of when Crew 11 will return, Isaacman added that, “We expect to provide a further update within the next 48 hours as to the expected anticipated undock and reentry timeline.” That’s Saturday afternoon. Stay tuned.
Crew 11 launched on August 1, 2025 and has spent 160 days in space since then. Originally planned to return next month after the arrival and handoff to Crew 12, which had planned to launch in mid-February.
Later, Isaacman said plainly, “This is not an emergency deorbit. We retain the capability to bring astronauts home in a matter of hours if necessary. So this is recognizing, first of all, we’re always going to do the right thing for our astronauts, but it’s recognizing it’s the end of the Crew 11 mission right now.”
So, one of the four astronauts has a serious enough issue to require testing or treatment on Earth, but it is not an immediate life-or-death emergency requiring Crew 11 to return to Earth with all possible haste. Instead, NASA is moving the timeline up for Crew 11’s return as a matter of prudence for one of its astronauts (or cosmonauts).
Once Crew 11 and Crew Dragon departs, ISS would be down to a skeleton crew: Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev from Roscosmos and NASA’s Chris Williams. They would have only the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft that docked on Nov. 27, 2025 as a return vehicle.
NASA is looking at accelerating the Crew 12 launch, but no new target date has been announced. “Alongside our international and commercial partners, NASA is evaluating their timeline to include earlier launch opportunities. We will provide more information when it’s available,” Isaacman announced.
Crew 12 is slated to fly in mid-February from The Cape, and launching earlier might have NASA preparing to launch two different crews on two entirely different missions in a very short timespan: Artemis II is currently scheduled to fly in early February. Launching Crew 12 earlier puts the two closer together on the calendar.
Asked if that would create a conflict within the agency, Isaacman replied to CBS News’s Bill Harwood that “These are totally separate campaigns at this point. We’re still evaluating what earlier dates would be achievable, if any, for Crew 12. So right now we’re going to look at all operations, all of our all of our standard process[es] to prepare for Crew 12 and look for opportunities if we can bring it in while simultaneously conducting our Artemis II campaign.”
Isaacman added that “There’s no reason to believe at this point in time that there would be any overlap that we’d have to de-conflict for.”
There is much more to come with this story.
Collins Aerospace, a North Carolina-based major aerospace contractor with deep roots in Brevard County, is under scrutiny following a critical NASA Inspector General report that highlights serious performance issues with the company’s management of the spacesuits used on the International Space Station.
Collins is a unit of RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies) and it employs thousands in Brevard County and plays a pivotal role in Florida’s aerospace ecosystem. The company supports not only the ISS program but also numerous spaceflight systems through partnerships with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and commercial space providers operating along the Space Coast.
With over 110 missions and nearly 300 spacewalks to its credit, the Collins Extra Vehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is an integral part of the ISS and a key component of the American space program. Spacecraft in their own right, these complex systems allow human extracurricular activities outside of ISS where the crew can perform repair, insulation, experiment retrieval and other vital activities for the ongoing functionality of the orbiting outpost. Simply put, they are critical items, even if the general public often takes them for granted.
You can read the report for yourself below, or download it to read in Acrobat Reader or a similar PDF viewer.
18 EMU suits were originally manufactured, and the last time a number was reported — in 2017 — the number of functioning EMUs had dropped to 11, and conventional wisdom in the space industry holds that there are fewer than the eight-year old 2017 count still working.
While the EMU is a venerable piece of hardware that has served NASA for decades, it is close to its end of life. Now, a NASA audit, released this week by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), paints a troubling picture of Collins’ work under the $1.5 billion Extravehicular Activity Space Operations Contract (ESOC).
Collins was originally awarded in 2010 for $324 million, the contract has ballooned in size and scope as the ISS mission has been extended through 2030, presumably the same year ISS will be deorbited.
The report cites repeated delays in delivering life support components, including the fan pump separator and carbon dioxide sensors, which are essential to astronaut safety. In some cases, components originally due in 2020 and 2022 have still not been delivered.
| Summary of Deficiencies cited by NASA | ||
| Category | Deficiency | Danger |
|---|---|---|
| Water Intrusion in Helmets | NASA documented multiple incidents where water leaked into astronauts’ helmets during spacewalks, including a 2013 event and another in 2022. | These events pose severe risks of asphyxiation, vision impairment, and communication failure during extravehicular activities. |
| Thermal Regulation Failures | Malfunctions in cooling systems, especially the sublimator units, have caused problems regulating suit temperature. | Uncontrolled temperatures can lead to overheating or hypothermia, endangering astronaut health and limiting operational capability. |
| Injuries from Suit Fit and Design Limitations | The bulky and rigid design has led to physical injuries, particularly in the shoulders and hands, due to poor fit and restricted mobility. | These injuries can impair astronaut performance and require medical attention, possibly compromising mission objectives. |
| Delayed Delivery of Critical Components | Collins has experienced years-long delays in delivering essential life support components, such as fan pump separators and carbon dioxide sensors. | These delays reduce the number of available functioning suits, increasing the risk of suit failure and EVA cancellations. |
| Obsolescence of Replacement Parts | Many suit components are no longer manufactured, and suppliers have exited the market, making replacements difficult. | Continued use of obsolete or expired parts increases the likelihood of system failure during missions. |
| Quality Control Failures | Instances were reported where expired, incorrectly built, or inadequately tested components were installed or shipped, including a component that remained on the ISS two decades past expiration. | These failures compromise suit integrity and astronaut safety, raising the risk of malfunctions in space. |
| Inadequate Management of EVA Anomalies | Collins and NASA experienced delays in identifying and resolving anomalies, such as the 2024 umbilical unit water leak that led to a spacewalk cancellation. | Slow responses to real-time issues increase the risk of loss of life support functions and mission failure. |
| Cost Overruns and Schedule Failures | Over the past three fiscal years, Collins exceeded planned costs by an appreciable amount. | These financial and schedule inefficiencies strain NASA’s resources and delay the availability of safe, functioning suits. |
| Inflated Contractor Performance Ratings | Despite repeated failures, Collins received high performance scores and a majority of available award fees, which the Inspector General deemed inconsistent with actual results. | Overly generous evaluations reduce accountability and hinder meaningful performance improvement. |
NASA’s own evaluations, according to the report, appear to inflate Collins’ performance scores, particularly in technical management and safety compliance, despite “persistent schedule, cost, and quality problems.” In 2023, NASA took the unusual step of sending a formal letter to Collins leadership expressing dissatisfaction across multiple contracts — including ESOC.
NASA management concurred with most of the report’s recommendations and committed to updating evaluation criteria and reassessing award fee practices by the end of 2025. However, they defended the current scores as fair within the broader context of the contract’s scope.
For its part, Collins says it has been troubled by supply chain issues, schedule delays, cost overruns. These problems have threatened NASA’s ability to conduct safe and timely spacewalks, a critical function for ISS maintenance and research.
As of the time of this writing, the company has not responded publicly to the NASA OIG report.
In 2019, NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel strongly recommended a complete EMU replacement due to the aging technology in the long-running program. In 2022, NASA selected Collins and Axiom Space to develop the next-generation spacesuit systems needed for the Artemis Project and for ISS. Collins was tasked with building the ISS suit, Axiom with the lunar suit.
Things seemed to be going well for Collins in their efforts as they developed and tested their new systems.
In 2024, however, Collins dropped out of the program. It was said that NASA and Collins felt that the development timeline would not support the space station’s schedule and NASA’s mission objectives, and thus the contract with Collins was mutually descoped.
Industry chatter suggested at the time that Collins’s program was encountering cost overruns and technical challenges, and that under a fixed-price or tightly constrained contract environment, continuing the program would have risked further losses.
Whether or not that conjecture was true is immaterial: Collins was out, Axiom Space and the AxEMU were the only game in town. Until Axiom’s suit was ready to take over Artemis and ISS use, Collins would continue to support the current EMU. That work is under scrutiny from the NASA OIG Report.
As mentioned above, Axiom Space is the sole vendor preparing the next generation of spacesuits for NASA and presumably for other customers.
Axiom describes their ISS version of the suit: “Similar to the Artemis III spacesuit, the Axiom Space ISS suit will be built to accommodate a wide range of crew members … provide increased flexibility … life support systems, pressure garments, and power avionics and communication.”
SpaceX
While SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn flight made a lot of noise in 2024 with its EVA, it should be noted that the SpaceX suit tested was not even the old EMU’s equal in terms of environmental control, autonomy, duration, robustness, and task flexibility. The SpaceX suits were intermediate or developmental EVA-capable suits, not yet the full “go-anywhere, high-complexity” spacesuit used by NASA for ISS or lunar EVAs. Theirs is a program still in development.
Currently the AxEMU is undergoing testing and development, focusing on preparation for NASA’s Artemis missions. Recently, for the first time, two AxEMU suits were tested at the same time in the in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA Sonny Carter Training Facility in Houston. Last month astronaut Walter Villadei took part in an integral test of the AxEMU using lunar-task tools, to evaluate stowage, deployment, and usability of tools under realistic constraints.
No specific date for testing the new AxEMU suit in space has been given, but multiple sources say that the company is shooting for a Critical Design Review late in 2025 or early 2026. Following the resolution of any action items, the AxEMU may be tested in orbit on ISS prior to being put to work on the lunar surface as part of the Artemis landings.
NASA and Northrop Grumman have postponed the planned arrival of the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft at the International Space Station as mission teams work through an alternate approach to ensure a safe rendezvous with the orbiting outpost after an engine issue on the spacecraft. Originally scheduled to reach the station on Wednesday, September 17, Cygnus’s new arrival date is still under review.
The delay resulted from an issue early Tuesday morning when Cygnus XL’s main engine shut down earlier than expected during two planned orbital adjustment burns. These burns were critical to positioning the spacecraft for its approach to the ISS. Despite the premature shutdown, all other systems aboard Cygnus XL are functioning normally, according to NASA officials.
Cygnus XL is carrying over 11,000 pounds of scientific experiments, crew supplies, and hardware for the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is set to capture the vehicle using the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, with NASA astronaut Zena Cardman serving as backup. Once secured, Cygnus will be berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module, where it will remain until March 2026.
The vehicle launched at 6:11 PM ET on September 14 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission, designated Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 23 (CRS-23), is part of NASA’s ongoing partnership with commercial providers to maintain a steady flow of cargo and research to the ISS.
Flight controllers are currently evaluating an alternative trajectory plan to ensure a safe and successful docking in the coming days. NASA will provide updates as a revised schedule is confirmed.
The delayed launch of Axiom 4 to the International Space Station will have to wait a little bit longer. The company announced today that the “space agency needs additional time to continue evaluating International Space Station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the orbital laboratory’s Zvezda service module.”
The delay is labeled as “indefinite” and no new launch target date has been announced.
The crew remains in quarantine, and the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon planned for the flight remain in healthy condition and ready for the flight.”
The root cause of the delay is a series of micro-leaks in the Zvezda module, first detected months ago but considered under control after previous repair efforts. However, on June 14, cosmonauts aboard the ISS noted a fresh pressure signature in the aft segment of Zvezda, indicating that some seals may have degraded or reopened under flight conditions. Although the module has held pressure more consistently since the latest inspections, NASA and its Russian partners determined that more data were needed to rule out any risk to incoming crew.
On a blog update published last week, NASA detailed the troubleshooting steps taken by cosmonauts: interior surfaces were inspected, suspect seals were re-torqued, and additional leak-rate measurements were conducted. “Following the most recent repair, pressure in the transfer tunnel has been stable,” NASA wrote, “but additional time is required for Roscosmos and NASA to evaluate whether further action is necessary.” This review window now overlaps with the Monday launch opportunity, effectively ruling it out until the investigation concludes.
There are also ISS logistics to consider: Ax-4’s launch window is tightly constrained by orbital mechanics and ISS traffic. The current opportunity closes on June 30 to accommodate other scheduled resupply and crewed flights. Pushing through before fully resolving the leak could risk mission safety and station integrity, particularly given the interconnected life-support systems aboard the ISS. Axiom Space President Michael Suffredini emphasized that while commercial missions must adhere to tight timelines, safety remains the non-negotiable priority.
Stay tuned.
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