For the first time, Hungarian and Pole on the way to the ISS!

For the first time, Hungarian and Pole on the way to the ISS!

Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA - Today, on June 25, 2025, the "AX-4" mission with the "Crew Dragon" from Axiom Space has marked an important step in commercial space. The mission was postponed several times due to technical problems on the rocket and the International Space Station (ISS). Now it is official: an Indian, a Hungarian and a pole are on the way to the ISS for the first time. This mission is carried out in cooperation with the US space agency NASA and the space company SpaceX, which delivers technology.

The crew of the "AX-4" consists of a total of four members: Peggy Whitson, a former NASA room driver who has several room flights, as well as three lay astronauts, the first space mission of which is. The lay astronauts are:

• Shubhanshu Shuckla (India, Air Force)
• Tibor Kapu (Hungary, engineer)
• Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland, engineer)

First room flight for new lay astronauts

It is noteworthy that Shukhanshu Shucla, Tibor Kapu and Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski are the first people from their respective countries that are part of the ISS crew. Previously, people from India, Poland and Hungary were already with Russian Soyuz missions in space in the 1970s and 1980s. The crew is expected to spend about two weeks on board the ISS and take part in various scientific experiments.

The arrival of the "Crew Dragon" on the ISS is planned for this Thursday. Interestingly, such flights cost around 70 million euros per passenger, which underlines the increasing commercialization of space travel. Axiom Space organized the first private mission for the ISS in 2022 and carried out several follow -up discoveries in 2023 and 2024.

commercial space travel and their possibilities

The commercialization of space travel opens up a new chapter that not only includes space tourism, but also the production of products in space, which can be produced in greater quality under conditions of weightlessness. The ISS is an ideal laboratory for experiments that cannot be carried out on Earth. Federal and European space agencies, such as the EU agency ESA, have provided significant resources for commercial and national experiments in recent years.

However, the increasing number of providers also brings challenges. Commercialization could generate cost pressure and increase the risk of failures through standard components, which could lead to more space waste, among other things. NASA has recently opened the ISS for space tourists and with the increasing number of private providers, research begins to develop new experimental opportunities in space.

Developments in space travel show that the field is currently in a stage that is comparable to aviation in the 1920s. The dynamics and competition in the industry are growing, and at the same time state commitment remains necessary to ensure basic research and strategic interests. Today's "AX-4" mission is another step into this exciting future of space travel.