New Delhi (TIP)- Setting at rest the uncertainties resulting from multiple deferments, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday, January 16, successfully carried out the docking of two satellites in space, making India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to accomplish the feat.
In space, docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives. The in-space docking experiment is crucial for the smooth conduct of the country’s ambitious future missions, including Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan, setting up a space station and landing an astronaut on the moon.
Last October, the government had announced that India would have by 2035 its own space station, “Bharatiya Antariksh Station”.
“Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment,” ISRO said in a post on X. “Let’s walk through the SpaDeX docking process: Manoeuvre from 15 metres to 3 metres hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture. Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidisation for stability. Docking successfully completed,” the post added.
After docking, the control of two satellites—Chaser and Target—as a single object was successful, ISRO said, adding that undocking and power transfer from one satellite to the other would follow in the coming days.
“India’s space programme achieves historic milestone with the successful docking of the two satellites launched under Space docking experiment, SpaDeX!” President Droupadi Murmu wrote on X, congratulating ISRO.
“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,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a message.
Jitendra Singh, MoS, Science and Technology, said the feat was all the more memorable as the technology used was “indigenous Bharatiya Docking System”.
V Narayanan, ISRO chief, congratulated the team. The two satellites, each weighing 220 kg, were originally supposed to dock on January 7. The experiment was deferred to January 9 after scientists felt the process required further validation through ground simulations in view of an abort scenario identified by them.
A day ahead of the docking planned on January 9, the space agency initiated the drift on Spacecraft A (Chaser) to move closer to the other spacecraft (Target) from 500 metres to 225 metres. But the operation was postponed as the drift was found to be more than expected.
On January 12, the two satellites were brought as close as 3 metres from each other, but then moved away following signal issues. The two satellites were put in space in a low earth orbit by a PSLV rocket on December 30.
With the successful docking, ISRO has achieved the primary objective of the mission. Undocking and separation of the two satellites will follow. The satellites will be deployed for the operation of their respective payloads.
ISRO docks 2 satellites in space as India joins elite 4-nation club
