The Axiom-4 space mission was successfully launched on 25 June, with research astronaut Tibor Kapu on board—marking the first time in 45 years that a Hungarian has travelled to space. The four-member crew—comprising Kapu, retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, and Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznanski-Wiśniewski—will spend 14 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), conducting a wide range of scientific research.
‘Godspeed, Tibor!’ Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó posted on X during the launch.
In recent weeks, the mission faced multiple delays due to various issues. Originally scheduled for 29 May, the launch date was pushed back to 8 June, then to 10 June, mainly due to weather conditions and technical concerns. At the Kennedy Space Center, the crew—including Tibor Kapu—remained in quarantine for days while the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket stood ready. A further delay moved the launch to 11 June, which was ultimately cancelled as well.
At that point, NASA halted the mission not only due to weather conditions but also because of a leak detected in the Russian Zvezda module of the ISS. The launch was postponed once again for technical reasons. Following repair work, NASA confirmed a new tentative launch date of no earlier than 22 June.
The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued regular updates throughout the process. According to Orsolya Ferencz, Ministerial Commissioner for Space Research, NASA and Roscosmos conducted a joint investigation until the issue was resolved.
Hungary’s space ambitions date back to 2019, when Péter Szijjártó announced that the country would send an astronaut into space within five years. In 2021, the government launched the HUNOR (Hungarian to Orbit) national space and research programme, and by 2023, a formal agreement had been signed with US aerospace company Axiom Space.
Over the course of the 14-day mission, the crew will conduct approximately 60 experiments and research projects, with findings expected to benefit researchers in 31 countries. Each astronaut is carrying out projects supported by cutting-edge technologies and scientific expertise from their home country. Axiom-4 will thus be one of the most research-intensive missions to date. Tibor Kapu alone is assigned 25 research tasks, spanning materials science, physiology, and radiation detection using the latest dosimetry technologies.
According to Index, Kapu will study, among other topics, 3D printing, microfluidics, satellite image-based positioning, the behaviour of molten indium, and the dynamics of liquid droplets in microgravity. In the field of biology and physiology, he will research DNA repair mechanisms in fruit flies and the development of plants germinating in selenium-deficient soil. His medical research includes experiments on spatial orientation and speech in zero gravity, as well as testing artificial intelligence systems that collect and summarize health data. He is also testing a drug designed to prevent space-induced vision loss and examining how learning and virtual reality affect cognitive and motor functions in space.
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