On Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully finished the SpaDeX satellites’ docking procedure. “India docked its name in space history! Good Morning, India ISRO’s SpaDeX mission accomplishes historic docking success. Proud to witness this moment!” ISRO said in a post on ‘X.’.
The historic moment came on January 12 when the space agency brought two spacecraft up to three meters and then placed them back at a safe distance in its test attempt to dock the satellites. On December 30, 2024, the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission was launched successfully.
According to a post on X, ISRO described the SpaDeX satellites’ docking procedure, which starts with completing a maneuver from a 15-meter hold point to a 3-meter hold point. Then docking is initiated with precision, leading to a successful spacecraft capture. “Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidization for stability. Docking successfully completed,” it said.
Notably, after China, Russia, and the United States, India became the fourth nation to accomplish this successful space docking. The space agency said that two satellites were successfully controlled as a single entity after docking. In a mission update, it stated, “Undocking and power transfer checks to follow in coming days.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated ISRO and the entire space fraternity for the mission’s success. “It is a significant stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come,” he said in a post on X.
The PSLV C60 rocket, which was carrying 24 payloads and two tiny satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), had taken out from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. According to reports, the small spacecraft, each weighing around 220 kg, were sent into a 475-kilometer circular orbit almost 15 minutes after liftoff.
PSLV launched the SpaDeX mission, which the national space agency claims is an affordable demonstrator mission that demonstrates in-space docking using two small spacecraft.
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