Bengaluru, January 10: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Friday that spacecrafts in the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDex) mission are at a distance of 1.5 km and on hold mode and further drift to 500 meters is planned to be achieved by Saturday morning.
Key Points
1.
First indigenous spacecraft docking experiment by ISRO
2.
Mission demonstrates advanced low-earth orbit technology
3.
Supports Prime Minister's vision of self-reliant India
4.
Innovative payload technology demonstrator
In a post on X, ISRO said, "Spacecrafts are at a distance of 1.5 km and on hold mode. Further drift to 500 m is planned to be achieved by tomorrow morning."
On Wednesday, ISRO postponed the SpaDex mission which was scheduled for Thursday, after the satellites drifted more than expected during a manoeuvre.
This was the second time that the docking experiment was postponed. It was originally scheduled for January 7. On December 30, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved a historic feat by launching PSLV-C60 with SpaDeX and innovative payloads.
The SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft launched by PSLV. The primary objective of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and demonstrate the technology needed for the rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft (SDX01, which is the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target, nominally) in a Low-Earth circular orbit.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, last week said that the SpaDeX mission was named "Bharatiya Docking Technology" because it is purely an indigenous mission, and India is carrying out the first such experiment related to docking technology.
The Union MoS further stated that SpaDeX's mission very much aligns with Prime Minister Modi's vision of "Aatmanirbhar Bharat."
