Polish astronaut’s ISS mission delayed again
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, who could become the second Polish national in space after Mirosław Hermaszewski, is now scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on 10 June, Axiom Space has confirmed.
Sławosz Uznański-WiśniewskiPhoto: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
This marks the second delay of the Ax-4 mission. The launch was initially scheduled for 29 May but was postponed to 8 June due to technical problems with the Dragon spacecraft.
New date set after technical issues
The latest update moves the flight to Tuesday, 10 June, with liftoff set for 8:22 AM EDT (14:22 CEST). The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Axiom Space, which organises the mission, has invited the public to follow the event live. “Tune in for the launch broadcast starting at 6:15 AM EDT,” the company said in a social media post.
Polish science and symbols reach for the stars
Ax-4 is the fourth commercial crewed mission arranged by Axiom Space. Uznański-Wiśniewski’s participation is part of IGNIS, a Polish scientific and technological initiative developed under an agreement between Poland’s Ministry of Development and Technology and the European Space Agency.
The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) is also involved in the preparations and is encouraging space fans worldwide to submit local initiatives for watching the IGNIS mission launch together.
The international crew includes American astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will serve as commander, Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Hungarian mission specialist Tibor Kapu, and Uznański-Wiśniewski as mission specialist representing Poland and ESA.
The astronauts are expected to spend 14 days aboard the ISS.
During the mission, 13 experiments will be conducted in fields such as medicine, biology, biotechnology and engineering. Uznański-Wiśniewski will also lead a series of recorded educational demonstrations in microgravity, which will be used in a Polish outreach programme.
These include experiments with Newton’s cradle – a device illustrating the conservation of momentum and energy – and demonstrations of simple electrical circuits, such as a Morse key.
Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski during ESA Security Conference at Warsaw, April 2025. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Polish heritage set to orbit Earth
The Polish astronaut will also bring several symbolic items on board. These include Polish flags, a patch from Mirosław Hermaszewski’s original spacesuit, keepsakes related to Marie Skłodowska-Curie, a reproduction of a star map from Nicolaus Copernicus’s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, a lump of salt from the Wieliczka mine, and a piece of Baltic amber.
Cultural artefacts such as a manuscript of a musical piece by Fryderyk Chopin, three poems by Wisława Szymborska, the Polish Nobel-Prize-winning poet, a traditional sash from the Łódź region, 3D-printed Polish letters (ą, ć, ę, ł, and others), as well as the official mission emblem and poster, will also be flown.
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Source: IAR/PAP/X/@astro_slawosz/@POLSA_GOV_PL/@esaspaceflight
