CNN
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India on Thursday became the fourth country to successfully perform an unmanned docking in space. The feat is seen as crucial for future missions as New Delhi cements its position as a global space power.
The United States, Russia, and China are the only countries that have developed and tested docking capabilities.
“The docking of the spacecraft has been completed successfully! A historic moment,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) told X.
The Indian Space Agency’s mission, called Space Docking Experiment (SpaDex), involved deploying two small spacecraft, each weighing about 220 kilograms, into low Earth orbit. The two spacecraft, called Target and Chaser, launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in southern Andhra Pradesh on December 30 aboard an Indian-made PSLV rocket.
On Thursday, they met up before joining.
“I congratulate ISRO scientists and the entire space fraternity on the successful demonstration of space docking of a satellite. This is an important stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the coming years,” Narendra of India・Prime Minister Modi spoke in X.
In-docking technology will be essential for future space exploration, such as when servicing a satellite or when multiple rocket launches are required to accomplish a mission goal.
According to ISRO, indigenously developed docking technology will be crucial if India is to succeed in its ambitions to send Indians to the moon, build an indigenous space station and bring back lunar samples.
Singh said in a Dec. 31 press conference that India will use this technology to transport materials such as payloads, lunar samples, and ultimately humans in space from one satellite or spacecraft to another. He said he would be able to transport it.
As part of the mission, the docked spacecraft will also demonstrate the transfer of power between them once they are connected. This is essential for space robot operations, spacecraft control, and payload operations during future missions.
Ahead of the docking, India on Sunday carried out a “trial run” in which the two satellites gradually approached each other in orbit, eventually reaching a distance of 3 meters, before returning to a “safe distance”.
The successful docking came after the experiment was postponed twice, on January 7 and 9, due to technical issues and the spacecraft drifting further than expected during maneuvers to bring it closer.
India’s space ambitions have accelerated under the Modi government, which was elected to a third term last June and is seeking to assert India’s place on the world stage.
In 2023, India joined the elite space club and became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon. The historic Chandrayaan-3 mission was the first to make a soft landing near the moon’s unexplored south pole, collecting samples that will help scientists understand how the moon formed and evolved over time. I did.
As part of its ambitious plans, India aims to launch its first manned space flight within the next few years and land an astronaut on the moon by 2040. This is a feat achieved only by the United States.
The country also aims to build its own space station, called the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, by 2035 and launch its first orbital mission to Venus in 2028. It also plans to return lunar samples as part of its ongoing program. Chandarayan plan for the month of 2027.
India has also made major advances in the commercialization of its space sector in recent years, allowing private companies to enter the sector and relaxing approvals for foreign investment, making it cheaper to build small satellites and launch them into low orbit. The emphasis is on
In Sunday’s docking experiment, a rocket and spacecraft were integrated and tested by private company Ananth Technologies, the first of its kind in Japan.
