ISRO's SpaDEX Mission Marks Successful Second Satellite Docking: Minister
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Synopsis
On April 21, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced the successful achievement of the second satellite docking by ISRO's SpaDEX mission, making India the fourth nation to master this crucial space technology.
Key Takeaways
- ISRO's SpaDEX mission successfully executed its second satellite docking.
- India is now the fourth country to master space docking technology.
- The Bharatiya Docking System is indigenously developed.
- Future experiments are planned within the next two weeks.
- This technology is vital for upcoming lunar and space station missions.
New Delhi, April 21 (NationPress) Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced on Monday that the ISRO's SpaDEX mission has successfully completed the second docking of satellites.
In a message on the X social media platform, the minister expressed his delight, stating he is "pleased to share that the second docking of satellites has been successfully executed".
“As previously mentioned, the PSLV-C60 / SpaDEX mission was launched on December 30, 2024. Following this, the first successful docking occurred on January 16, 2025, at 06:20 AM and undocked successfully on March 13, 2025, at 09:20 AM,” he added.
The minister also noted that additional experiments are scheduled in the upcoming two weeks.
With the successful docking of satellites during the SpaDEX mission, India has now become the fourth nation to excel in space docking technology.
ISRO detailed that the two small spacecraft involved—SDX01, the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target—each weigh approximately 220 kg. These satellites were part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission, which launched aboard the PSLV-C60 rocket from Sriharikota on December 30.
India joins the ranks of the US, Russia, and China as the fourth country to master docking technology, which has been indigenously developed and is referred to as the ‘Bharatiya Docking System’.
This system encompasses a docking mechanism, a set of four rendezvous and docking sensors, power transfer technology, an innovative autonomous rendezvous and docking strategy, and an inter-satellite communication link (ISL) for autonomous communication between spacecraft, equipped with inbuilt intelligence to monitor the states of the other spacecraft, among other features.
ISRO anticipates that the SpaDeX mission will reinforce India's capabilities in orbital docking—a crucial technology for future human spaceflight endeavors and satellite servicing missions.
Beyond gaining entry into the elite group of spacefaring nations, docking technology is also essential for India's future space missions, including the lunar mission, establishing the Indian space station, and missions like Chandrayaan-4 without reliance on GNSS from Earth.
