The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday released a video of the successful docking of satellites as part of its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX).
With this India has become the fourth country to accomplish the remarkable feat. Earlier the US, Russia and China have achieved this milestone.
A post shared by ISRO on X (formerly Twitter) reads, “ISRO successfully completed docking of two SPADEX satellites (SDX-01 & SDX-02) in the early hours of 16 January, 2025.”
ISRO successfully completed docking of two SPADEX satellites (SDX-01 & SDX-02) in the early hours of 16 January, 2025.#SPADEX #ISRO pic.twitter.com/UJrWpMLxmh
— ISRO (@isro) January 17, 2025
The video shared by the space organisation showed the coupling of the satellites in the space. This was was followed by new ISRO Chairperson V Narayanan congratulating the space agency team which made this docking of satellites successful.
In space, docking technology is crucial when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives, as reported by news agency PTI.
The docking experiment is important for the smooth conduct of the country’s ambitious future missions. This includes India’s missions like Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan, setting up a space station and landing an astronaut on the lunar surface. As per the space organisation, the undocking and power transfer checks will follow in coming days.
On the successful docking experiment of SpaDex mission, Union Minister Jitendra Singh yesterday said, as quoted by ANI, “According to the calendar we have prepared, our station should be established in space by 2035 and its name has been decided as Indian Space Station. This was important to facilitate the successful docking experiment of SpaDex mission…”
#WATCH | Shimla, HP | Union Minister Jitendra Singh says, “According to the calendar we have prepared, our station should be established in space by 2035 and its name has been decided as Indian Space Station. This was important to facilitate the successful docking experiment of… pic.twitter.com/6PyzX0u0sS
— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2025
In October last year, the government said that India will have its own space station, called the “Bharatiya Antriksh Station,” by 2035.
A few days back, the ISRO said that the two satellites which were launched by it to perform a space docking experiment had been successfully completed. On January 12, ISRO said that the two satellites have attempted a trial run and reached up to 15 metres and further to 3 metres. Following this, the spacecraft was moved to a safe distance.
The Space Docking Experiment mission was successfully launched on December 30, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
