ISRO Successfully Conducts Historic Space-Docking Test of Satellites Under SpaDex Mission

In a major boost to India's ambitious future space missions, ISRO on Thursday successfully performed the docking of satellites as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) and announced that post docking, control of two satellites as a single object was also achieved.

"India docked its name in space history! Good Morning India ISRO's SpaDeX mission accomplishes historic docking success. Proud to witness this moment!", ISRO said in a post on 'X'.

With the successful docking of satellites --Chaser and Target-- India has become the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to accomplish the technological feat.

In space, docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives.  The docking experiment is crucial for the smooth conduct of the country's ambitious future missions, including Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan, setting up a space station and landing an astronaut on the moon.  Last October, the government announced that India will have its own Space Station by 2035, known as the "Bharatiya Antriksh Station".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on 'X' greeted the scientists for the achievement. 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." Further, ISRO said: "Post docking, control of two satellites as a single object is successful. Undocking and power transfer checks to follow in coming days." Hailing ISRO, Union Minister of State for Science, Technology and Space, Jitendra Singh said on 'X': "Congrats #ISRO. Finally made it. SPADEX has accomplished the unbelievable… docking complete… and it is all indigenous 'Bharatiya Docking System'." He said this success paves the way for the smooth conduct of ambitious future missions, including the Bharatiya Antriksh Station, Chandrayaan-4 and Gaganyaan.

"PM Sh @narendramodi’s continuous patronage keeps the spirits soaring here at Bengaluru," he added.

ISRO Chairman V Narayanan too congratulated the team which made the mission successful.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also greeted ISRO for achieving the feat. "We are extremely proud of the exceptional work of the scientists and space engineers at @isro as they successfully achieved the satellite docking as part of the SpaDex Mission," Kharge said in a post on 'X'.

He said this significant milestone marks a pivotal step for the future of India's space programme, which has been built over the years, and is a collective achievement for the nation.

Earlier on January 12, ISRO brought the two spacecraft to three metres and then moved them back to a safe distance in its trial attempt to dock the satellites.

ISRO successfully launched the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission on December 30, 2024.

The PSLV C60 rocket carrying two small satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), along with 24 payloads, had lifted off from the first launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and about 15 minutes after liftoff, the two small spacecraft weighing about 220 kg each were launched into a 475-km circular orbit as intended.

According to ISRO, the SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft that were launched by PSLV.