Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully docked satellites under the ‘Space Docking Experiment’ (SPADEX) on Thursday. “India has registered its name in space history,” ISRO said in a post on social media platform Proud to witness this moment.” Earlier on January 12, ISRO had tested the docking of satellites by bringing two spacecraft to a distance of three meters and then returning them to a safe distance.
ISRO successfully launched the ‘Space Docking Experiment’ (SPADEX) mission on December 30, 2024. The PSLV C60 rocket, carrying two small satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Laxy) with 24 payloads, lifted off from the first launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota and landed at an altitude of about 220 metres. A few minutes later, after about 15 launches, two small spacecraft weighing 1.5 kg each were successfully launched into a circular orbit of 475 km. Were done.
According to ISRO, the SpadeX mission is a low-cost technology mission for ‘docking’ in space using two small spacecraft launched by PSLV. In-space docking techniques are necessary when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives. This technology is essential for India’s space ambitions such as Indian mission to the Moon, bringing back samples from the Moon, construction and operation of the Indian Space Station (BAS), etc. Through this mission, India is set to become the fourth country in the world to have space docking technology.
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