ISRO SpaDeX Mission: The Space Docking Experiment (SPADEX) of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was successfully launched on Monday (December 30, 2024) using the PSLV rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
ISRO’s Spadex mission is a cost-effective technology demonstration mission to demonstrate in-space docking with a PSLV launch vehicle. According to the Indian Space Agency (ISRO), the primary objective of the Spadex mission is to develop and demonstrate the technology required for rendezvous, docking and undocking of two small spacecraft (SDX 01 and SDX 02) in low Earth circular orbit.
Will help in missions like Chandrayaan-4
ISRO said that this is an important milestone in India’s space program. “Because of its smaller size and mass, Spadex is even more challenging, as rendezvous and docking maneuvers require more precise precision than docking two larger spacecraft,” it said in a statement. “This will herald the autonomous docking required for future lunar missions such as Chandrayaan-4 without GNSS support.”
The space agency said, “Spadex is an ambitious mission to establish India’s capability in orbital docking, which is a critical technology for future manned space missions and satellite service missions.” It is initially scheduled to be launched on December 30, 2024. It was to be held at 9.58 pm, but later ISRO officials postponed it to 10 pm. However, no official information was given behind the launching.
India joins the list of these countries
This is an economical technology demonstration mission for ‘docking’ in space. With this, India has been included in the special list like China, Russia and America. ‘Space docking’ technology refers to the technology of connecting two spacecraft in space. This is a technology with the help of which it is possible to send humans from one spacecraft to another.
Also read: The date for Indian astronaut to step on the moon has arrived, ISRO Chief himself revealed
