As the count down to June 10, 2025, excitement builds for a major moment in India’s space history. The Falcon 9 rocket, famous for its success in commercial space travel, is ready to launch the Axiom 4 mission. This mission will carry Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from the Indian Air Force along with crew members from the US, Poland, and Hungary. This marks India’s return to human spaceflight after more than 40 years, bringing back India’s space dreams.
The Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket boasts an impressive track record, making it an ideal choice for this crucial mission. Out of 428 flights, it has succeeded 427 times, giving it a 99.77 per cent success rate.
More importantly, it has completed 16 crewed missions with a perfect 100 per cent crew safety record—no astronaut has ever been hurt on a Falcon 9 mission.
NASA certified the Falcon 9 for human spaceflight in November 2020, making it the first commercial spacecraft system approved for regular human flights since the Space Shuttle in 1981. To get this approval, SpaceX had to prove the rocket had less than a 1-in-500 chance of crew loss during launch or return.
“Since its first human flight in May 2020, the Falcon 9 has safely carried 60 astronauts to space across 16 missions. These include 12 NASA Commercial Crew Program flights and four private missions like the all-civilian Inspiration4 flight in September 2021. The Axiom 4 mission will be the 17th crewed flight, continuing this perfect safety record. The rocket first proved itself in 2020 when it became the first private vehicle to carry NASA astronauts to space using the Crew Dragon spacecraft. This achievement showed the world that Falcon 9 could handle the most challenging human spaceflight tasks,” explained space expert Girish Linganna.
For the Axiom 4 mission, Falcon 9 will work together with the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is full of safety systems. One of the key features is the launch escape system, powered by eight powerful SuperDraco engines.
If anything goes wrong during launch, this system can quickly push the crew capsule away from the rocket in seconds, acting as a life-saving emergency plan that was proven successful in testing in January 2020.
“Safety is also a priority during the return to Earth. The Crew Dragon uses six parachutes—two smaller ones called drogue parachutes to steady the capsule, and four big main parachutes to slow it down for a safe landing in the sea. The system can work even if one main parachute fails. As an extra backup added in 2024, the spacecraft can also make an emergency powered landing,” added Linganna.
Inside the spacecraft, astronauts wear special suits made from Nomex, a strong material that protects them from extreme heat and pressure. The spacecraft itself is protected by a heat shield made from PICA-3 (Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator), which helps to absorb and spread out the heat when the capsule re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.
All these systems together create a strong safety set-up to protect the astronauts throughout the mission.
The rocket also has triple backup flight computers and can still complete its mission even if one of its nine engines fails. Both Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon have passed NASA’s strict safety checks for carrying humans, which proves how dependable and safe they are.
“At the heart of Falcon 9’s success lies its reusability—a concept once considered impractical. The rocket’s first stage, powered by nine Merlin engines, executes a precise boostback burn after separation, flipping 180 degrees to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. Guided by grid fins and landing legs, it touches down on droneships like Of Course I Still Love You or land-based pads, often within minutes of launch,” Srimathy Kesan, founder and CEO of Space Kidz India, told THE WEEK.
This rapid reuse has enabled an unprecedented launch cadence. In 2024 alone, Falcon 9 flew 134 missions, accounting for over half of all global orbital launches. Competitors like Arianespace and United Launch Alliance have scrambled to adapt, developing reusable systems like Ariane 6 and Vulcan Centaur, but none match Falcon 9’s flight-proven reliability.
The ripple effects are profound: small satellite operators, once priced out of dedicated launches, now flock to SpaceX’s ride-share missions, while nations without historic space programs, like Hungary and Poland, can now afford ISS access through partnerships with Axiom Space.
“By reusing boosters up to 28 times, SpaceX has slashed launch costs from $2,500/kg in 2010 to $1,600/kg in 2025, with internal costs per launch estimated as low as $17 million. Due to this capability, a single booster can complete dozens of missions, launching everything from NASA’s DART asteroid deflector to classified NRO satellites with a turnaround time as short as nine days,” remarked Kesan.
The Axiom 4 crew includes Commander Peggy Whitson from the US, Pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from India, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. They have completed around 15 weeks of tough training. This included practising emergency procedures, learning how to control the spacecraft, and understanding how to live and work on the ISS. Such training prepares them well for both the planned tasks and any unexpected situations, increasing safety and chances of success.
This mission is especially significant because it will make Shukla the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS, and Kapu will be Hungary’s first astronaut since the Soviet era. The crew will conduct 60 experiments representing 31 countries during their 14-day stay at the ISS.
Group Captain Shukla is one of four Indian astronauts preparing for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission, expected to launch in early 2027. His experience on Axiom 4 will be valuable training for India’s own human spaceflight program.
Experts point out that the Falcon 9’s perfect safety record gives confidence that this mission will succeed. While space travel always has some risks, the rocket’s advanced technology, proven track record, and the crew’s thorough training make it as safe as possible.