June 25, 2025 at 6:06 AM EDT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — SpaceX’s fifth and final Crew Dragon spacecraft finally made it off the ground on a private astronaut mission for Axiom Space. Launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Long exposure of the launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Axiom Space Ax-4 mission launches from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39-A on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) The Falcon 9 rocket venting before the launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) The Falcon 9 rocket venting before the launch of the Axiom Ax-4 mission from Launch Complex 39-A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space Peggy Whitson is the commander; Indian Space Research Organisation astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the pilot; and European Space Agency project astronauts Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary are the mission specialists. This is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption