Jan 16, Thursday 2025 Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully docked two satellites in space. This marks a milestone for India’s space capabilities and India’s first step towards entering an elite club of nations with this technology. This feat comes after several attempts and postponements, with the final docking maneuver taking place on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
This achievement marks a significant step towards multiple future missions- including Chandrayaan 4 and the nation’s space station in the pipeline. The Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) was launched on December 30, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, to demonstrate autonomous in-space docking of two spacecraft. The two spacecraft were launched separately at an orbital altitude of approximately 475km.
The final launch orders were executed from Isro Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru. The process of docking involves found monitoring, multiple postponed attempts, and cautious maneuvers. The satellites were brought to a distance of 3 meters before initiating the execution command. Isro occupied a petal-based docking system, aligned with international standards which included the International Docking System Standard (IDSS). The input saw Isro postponing the docking procedure from January 7 to January 9. Which was postponed again later.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists on the grand success. He posted on X (formerly Twitter). The post read, “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.”
The success of the SpaDeX mission has significant implications for India’s future space endeavors, including the development of a space station and the Chandrayaan-4 mission, which aims to bring lunar samples back to Earth. Keep Reading Questiqa India and Questiqa Bharat for more updates.
