ISRO Created History: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Thursday successfully ‘docked’ satellites under ‘Space Docking Experiment’ (SPADEX). ISRO said in a post on social media platform ‘X’, “India has registered its name in space history.” Good morning India, ISRO’s Spacex mission has achieved historic success in ‘docking’. Feeling proud to witness this moment.
PM Modi has also congratulated ISRO on this feat.
When was it sent?
Earlier on January 12, ISRO had brought two spacecraft to a distance of three meters as part of a test to ‘dock’ the satellites and then sent them back to a safe distance. 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, lifted off from Sriharikota’s Satish It took off from the first launchpad of the Dhawan Space Center and about 15 minutes after take-off, Two small spacecraft weighing 220 kg were launched in a targeted manner into a circular orbit of 475 km.
Why was this mission necessary?
According to ISRO, the SpaceX mission is a cost-effective technology mission for ‘docking’ in space using two small spacecraft, which was launched using PSLV. ‘Docking’ technology in space is 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 poised to become the fourth country in the world to have space docking technology.