Axiom Space’s Fourth ISS Mission to Launch Astronauts from India, Poland & Hungary
Axiom Space is preparing for the launch of its fourth mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, June 10, a milestone CEO Tejpaul Bhatia describes as “a little bit of a victory lap.”
The upcoming mission, Ax-4, is the company’s second fully national mission, meaning all astronauts on board represent national governments. In a landmark moment, India, Poland, and Hungary will each send an astronaut — marking just the second astronaut ever from each country, and a significant leap in global human spaceflight participation.
More than just a symbolic event, Ax-4 is also financially significant: it will be Axiom’s first break-even mission, after absorbing losses on the initial three. Bhatia was clear, however, that these ISS missions are not Axiom’s end goal. The company’s core vision is to build commercial modules attached to the ISS, which will later detach to become an independent Axiom Station.
“These early missions bring revenue and demonstrate the real demand for commercial spaceflight,” Bhatia said. “And they offer ‘Apollo moments’ for our client countries.”
🚀 Space for All: A New Phase in Global Exploration
According to Bhatia, Ax-4 is a strong example of how commercial spaceflight is democratizing access to space. He noted that this represents a shift from the Cold War–era “Space Race 1.0” to a new era — “Space Race 2.0” — where governments, entrepreneurs, and private companies all play critical roles.
Axiom has partnered with SpaceX for all its missions so far, using the Dragon spacecraft to transport astronauts. In this model, Axiom acts as a “marketplace integrator and broker,” coordinating mission logistics and services across agencies and companies.
“No one country or company can go multi-planetary alone,” Bhatia added.
💼 Navigating a Complex Political Landscape
Although recent tensions between former U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk raised concerns about the stability of public-private space efforts, Axiom declined to comment. Musk had briefly stated he would decommission Dragon in response to canceled government contracts, but later softened his stance.
When asked whether political or budgetary changes in NASA could hinder Axiom’s ambitions, Bhatia offered a confident outlook.
“Government investment has already opened the door,” he said. “It’s now up to entrepreneurs to build the bridge to what’s next.”
👨🚀 From Cloud to Cosmos: A New Era at Axiom
The Ax-4 mission is also the first major initiative under Tejpaul Bhatia’s leadership as CEO. A former Google Cloud executive, Bhatia stepped into the role just four weeks ago, replacing co-founder Dr. Kam Ghaffarian, who remains as executive chairman. Bhatia had previously served as Axiom’s Chief Revenue Officer for four years.
Despite a background outside of aerospace, Bhatia shared a lifelong passion for space.
“When I was daydreaming as a kid, it was always about space,” he said.
“I’d love to go up myself one day. And I truly believe we all will.”
