India’s first space docking mission launched
#News Bureau December 31,2024
The Space Docking Experiment (Spadex) mission was launched on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh on board the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) “workhorse” PSLV rocket. The mission is crucial for future space endeavours, including satellite servicing and operations of the country’s space station. In-space docking technology is important when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve shared mission objectives.
The Indian mission involves deploying two small spacecraft, each weighing about 220 kilograms (485 pounds), into a circular orbit of 470 kilometres. It will also demonstrate the transfer of electrical power between docked spacecraft, a key capability for experiments such as robotics in space, overall spacecraft control and payload operations after undocking.
The mission director declared the launch successful after the PSLV-C60 rocket reached an altitude of about 470 km (292 miles) about 15 minutes after launch.
Each satellite carries advanced payloads, including an imaging system and a radiation-monitoring instrument designed to measure levels of electron and proton radiation in space, which will provide crucial data for future human space flight missions.
ISRO chairman S Somanath said the actual test of the docking technology could take place in about a week’s time and indicated an estimated date of around January 7. “The rocket has put the satellites in the right orbit,” he said. India’s successful demonstration will put it in the list of countries that have developed and tested this capability along with the US, Russia and China.
In a first for India, the rocket and satellites were tested at a private company called Anant Technologies rather than a government entity. “Demonstrating this technology is not just about being able to join a rarefied group of countries that own it, it also opens up the market for ISRO to become a launch partner for various global missions that require docking facilities or assembly in space,” said Ashoka University astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury.
The fourth stage of the PSLV, which usually turns into space debris, has been converted into an active unmanned space laboratory. The final stage of the rocket has been repurposed to form an orbital laboratory and will be used for various experiments. Pawan Goenka, chairman of India’s space regulatory body, said, “The PSLV Orbital Experiment Module (POEM) deployed by ISRO is a practical solution that allows Indian start-ups, academic institutions and research organisations to test their space technologies without the need to launch entire satellites. By making this platform accessible, we are reducing entry-level barriers and enabling private entities to contribute to the space sector.”
The mission is “crucial for India’s future space ambitions,” the country’s science and technology minister Jitendra Singh said in a statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year announced plans to put a man on the moon by 2040. The world’s most populous country has a comparatively low-budget aerospace program that is rapidly catching up with milestones set by global space powers. In August 2023, India will become the fourth country to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon after Russia, the United States and China.
