ISRO’S SpaDex Mission Successful, Achieves Historic Space Docking

In a historic success for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it successfully docked two satellites in space on 16 January 2025. The two satellites were launched by ISRO onboard its PSLVC-60 rockets from Satish Dhawan Space Center SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on 30 December 2024, under its SpaDex Mission.

India has become the fourth country in the world after Russia, the United States America, and China- to master the art of rendezvous, space docking, and undocking.  

The whole mission is crucial for the country’s manned mission to the moon and supporting a space station.

What is Space Rendezvous, Docking & Undocking?

Rendezvous in space is the process of bringing two spacecraft together. The docking refers to the meeting of both the spacecraft and physical joining, 

The essential elements of a rendezvous are the matching of orbital trajectories and the movement of one spacecraft within proximity of the other, typically within 100 meters (330 feet).

Objectives of the  ISRO’s SpaDex Mission?

SpaDex mission is a technology demonstrator project of ISRO. It carries two small spacecraft SDX01( the Chaser) and SDX02(theTarget), each weighing 220 kg.. 

• The two spacecraft will be deployed into a 470 km Low Earth Circular Orbit (LEO at 55° inclination.
• The chaser satellite will attempt to dock with the target satellite in a precision-controlled maneuver by the ISRO’s ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network), Bengaluru.
• After the successful docking, ISRO will conduct an electrical power transfer between the two satellites.
• After that, both the Chaser and the Target satellites will undock and separate.
• After the separation, the two satellites will start the operation of their respective payloads for the expected mission life of up to two years.

Significance of the Mission 

The mastery of space docking is crucial for the building and operation of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and a manned mission to the moon.

Bhartiya Antariksh Station 

• Bhartiya Antariksh Station (BAS) will be a fully functional manned space station in the  Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• This will enable ISRO to undertake medium to long-duration human spaceflight missions as part of its sustained human space program.
• The 1st module of the Antariksh Station is expected to be launched in 2028 and the target year of becoming fully operational with all modules is by 2035.

Manned Mission to Moon 

• The government of India has set a target to land an Indian astronaut (Gaganyatri) on the surface of the moon and bring them back safely to Earth by 2040.
• For this purpose, the Chandrayaan-4  mission will be launched which will demonstrate the technology needed to successfully land on the moon, bring samples from the moon, and successfully return to Earth.

Gaganyaan Programme 

• The Gaganyaan program of ISRO was approved by the government of India in 2018. 
• The Gagayaan program aims to make India self-sufficient in launching manned space flights.
•  The scope of the Gaganyaan Programme was later expanded to include building a manned space station called Bhartiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and a manned mission to the moon by 2040.

About the PSLV Rocket 

The PSLV is ISRO's medium-lift launch vehicle and its most successful rocket with only two failures in 1993, when it was being developed, and in the 2017 IRNSS mission.

The PSLV C-60  is 44.5 meters tall, a third-generation launch vehicle of ISRO, and is a four-stage rocket.

About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is India’s national space agency which was set up on 15 August 1969.

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka 

Founder and first Chairman: Vikram Sarabhai.

Chairman: S.Somnath 

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