SpaDeX satellites holding position at 15m. File photo: ISRO
SpaDeX: ISRO successfully docks satellites
India became the 4th country to achieve successful Space Docking, ISRO said in a statement
The docking of satellites as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission has been performed successfully on Thursday (January 16), ISRO said.
India is the fourth country to achieve successful space docking after USA, Russia, and China.
'Historic moment'
"Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment," ISRO posted on its X (formerly Twitter) handle.
"Let’s walk through the SpaDeX docking process: Manoeuvre from 15m to 3m hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture. Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidisation for stability. Docking successfully completed. India became the 4th country to achieve successful Space Docking. Congratulations to the entire team! Congratulations to India!" it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed it as a significant stepping stone for India's space missions.
"Congratulations to our scientists at @isro and the entire space fraternity for the successful demonstration of space docking of satellites. It is a significant stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come," Modi wrote on his X handle.
2 cancellations
Last Thursday, ISRO had said it arrested the drift between satellites during SpaDeX and put the spacecraft in a slow drift course to move closer to each other.
Also read: SpaDeX: ISRO says it arrested drift between satellites
“SpaDeX Docking Update: The drift has been arrested and spacecrafts put in a slow drift course to move closer to each other. By tomorrow, it is expected to reach initialisation conditions,” ISRO had said in a statement.
The ISRO had twice cancelled the SpaDeX mission, once on January 7 and then on January 9.
Mission launched in December 2024
ISRO had successfully launched the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission on December 30, 2024.
The PSLV C60 rocket carrying two small satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), along with 24 payloads, had lifted off from the first launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and about 15 minutes after liftoff, the two small spacecraft weighing about 220 kg each were launched into a 475-km circular orbit as intended.
According to ISRO, the SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft that was launched by PSLV.
In space, docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives.
