Launch of Ax-4 mission with Polish astronaut postponed to June 8

The launch of the Ax-4 mission with the Pole Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place on June 8 at 15:11 Polish time (9:11 in Florida), the company Axiom Space announced on Wednesday. The launch was originally planned for May 29.

The mission consists of: Peggy Whitson (USA) – commander; Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA) – specialist; Shubhanshu Shukla (India) – pilot and Tibor Kapu (Hungary) – specialist. The astronauts are to spend 14 days on the station. They will conduct research related to, among others, the impact of microgravity on the human body, Earth observation and fuels of the future.

As part of the Polish IGNIS mission, 13 experiments will be conducted in orbit, including those related to medicine, biology, biotechnology and engineering sciences. Several periods have also been planned during which the Polish astronaut will make calls to domestic shortwave operators.

Uznański-Wiśniewski will also conduct shows in space, which will be recorded and later used as part of the educational program. The classes will cover, among others, Newton's cradle in zero gravity (a row of several identical steel balls in contact with each other, which can only oscillate in one plane; the device illustrates the principle of conservation of momentum and energy) and the operation of simple electrical systems (e.g. a telegraph key).

The astronaut will take with him to the ISS, among other things, Polish flags, including a patch from Mirosław Hermaszewski's spacesuit, memorabilia of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, a map from Nicolaus Copernicus' work "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), a lump of salt from Wieliczka and a piece of Polish amber. Also sent into orbit will be a manuscript of Fryderyk Chopin's mazurka, three poems by Wisława Szymborska, a lace from the regional costume of the Łódź region from the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, Polish letters (ą, ć, ę, ł etc.) printed in 3D, and emblems and a poster of the mission.

The Ax-4 mission will be the next commercial manned expedition carried out by Axiom Space. The participation of a Pole in it is the result of an agreement signed between the Ministry of Development and Technology and ESA for the preparation and conduct of the Polish scientific and technological mission IGNIS to the ISS. The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) is also involved in the preparations as an executive agency of the Ministry of Development and Technology.

Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski will be the second Pole in space. The first was Mirosław Hermaszewski (1941-2022), who, together with Piotr Klimuk (a Soviet cosmonaut of Belarusian nationality), flew on the Soyuz 30 spacecraft from June 27 to July 5, 1978. During the 8-day mission, 126 orbits of the Earth were completed. (PAP)

abu/ agt/ plural/

The PAP Foundation permits free reprinting of articles from the Nauka w Polsce Service, provided that you inform us by e-mail once a month about the use of the service and provide the source of the article. In portals and internet services, please include the linked address: Source: naukawpolsce.pl, and in journals the annotation: Source: Nauka w Polsce Service - naukawpolsce.pl. The above permission does not apply to: information from the "World" category and any photographs and video materials.