SpaceX Took Axiom-4 Oxygen Leak ‘Lightly’, ISRO Chief Says After Crediting Indian Team For Averting Disaster
The ISRO chief had earlier explained that the anomaly was first noticed on June 10, just a day before the scheduled liftoff of June 11.
ISRO Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space, V Narayanan, has revealed that SpaceX “probably took lightly” a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 rocket that carried the Axiom-4 crew to the International Space Station. Among the astronauts on board was India’s Shubhanshu Shukla. Narayanan stressed that the flaw could have turned into a life-threatening emergency had ISRO engineers not insisted on a detailed inspection.
Speaking in New Delhi on Thursday, Narayanan recounted how the oxidiser lines that supply liquid oxygen to the engines had developed a crack, reported PTI. “If with the crack the rocket lifts off, with the vibrations, it will give way the moment it lifts off. Once it gives way, it is a catastrophic situation, nothing else,” he said.
ISRO Engineers Flagged The Risk
Ealier this week, the ISRO chief had explained that the anomaly was first noticed on June 10, just a day before the scheduled liftoff of June 11. The Indian team stationed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre pressed SpaceX for answers. “There were 14 questions asked and none of the questions were answered satisfactorily, including where the leak was. It was not identified. We demanded the entire correction, because we were very clear. Because I have been working in that area for 40 years, I know what is the difficulty if a rocket takes off with a leak,” Narayanan said.
Following India’s intervention, the mission was postponed to June 25 to fix the issue. The chairman highlighted that the crack in the main feed line of the rocket could have triggered a “catastrophic failure” if overlooked.
'Safe Mission Because Of Indian Intervention'
Narayanan, while delivering the Convocation Address at Osmania University on August 19, credited the success of the mission to Indian vigilance. He underlined that it was the insistence of ISRO engineers, backed by the Indian government, that pushed for a correction.
“If the rocket had taken off (with the leak), it would have been a catastrophic failure. Based on the insistence of Indians, the Indian education system, the training of ISRO, the rocket was corrected. Today we have accomplished a safe mission, not only Subhanshu Shukla, along with him three more international astronauts,” he said.
The comments underscore India’s growing role in global space collaboration, with ISRO’s intervention directly safeguarding lives on an international mission.
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