ISRO's SpaDeX mission is successful, 2 Indian satellites dock in space

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Indian Space Research Organisation, the Indian space agency, succeeded in docking or mating two Indian satellites in space Thursday morning. This is part of the Space Docking Experiment or SpaDeX. This was the fourth attempt when Indian scientists finally hit Bullseye.


At about 10 am ISRO announced Docking Success. "Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment. Let's walk through the SpaDeX docking process: Manoeuvre from 15m to 3m hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture. Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidisation for stability. Docking successfully completed. India became the 4th country to achieve successful Space Docking. Congratulations to the entire team! Congratulations to India!"





SpaDeX Docking Update:

🌟Docking Success

Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment.

Let's walk through the SpaDeX docking process:

Manoeuvre from 15m to 3m hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture.…
— ISRO (@isro) January 16, 2025






Docking is a very complex process and ISRO attempted it cautiously doing several trials over a fortnight.


India used the indigenously developed Bhartiya Docking System to achieve this feat just before docking the satellites moved closer to each other at a speed of 10 millimeters per second.


ISRO succeeds in docking two Indian satellites in space orbiting at 475 kilometers above Earth. India becomes the fourth country after Russia, USA and China to have successfully learnt to dock. India launched the SpaDeX mission on December 30, 2024 using the PSLV rocket. Docking is an enabling technology for future missions like Chandrayaan-4 and Bhartiya Antariksha station.


On January 12, 2025, when the last attempt was made, the satellites were moved back and forth to achieve what ISRO had described as an "exciting handshake" of the two satellites in space.


Then two Indian satellites came as close as three metres in a trial attempt for space docking and are now moving back, the Indian space agency said this morning.


"A trial attempt to reach up to 15 m and further to 3 m is done. Moving back space crafts to a safe distance. The docking process will be done after analysing data further," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in its last update of January 12, on the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission.


Docking is a very complex process with the satellites being moved back and forth to achieve what ISRO has described as an "exciting handshake" of the two satellites in space.


The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30 with the satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), being lifted off onboard a PSLV C60 rocket and placed into a 475-kilometre circular orbit.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media X (formerly Twitter) and congraulated scientists at ISRO and the entire space fraternity for the successful demonstration of space docking of satellites. "It is a significant stepping stone for India's ambitious space missions in the years to come," he said.





Congratulations to our scientists at @isro and the entire space fraternity for the successful demonstration of space docking of satellites. It is a significant stepping stone for India's ambitious space missions in the years to come.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 16, 2025