'SpaDex will prove useful for future assignments,' says Project Director N Surendran

"It is one of the experiments that we are going to prove in orbit, which is going to be useful for future assignments or projects assigned to us like our Bharatiya Antariksha Station (Indian Space Station) and the Chandrayaan-4 mission. In the two complex and challenging projects, this docking mechanism is becoming an inevitable requirement," Surendran told ANI.

He further said that docking remains mandatory for human missions as well, on occasions when there is a need to attach to an international space station.

"Docking is mandatory. For human space missions also, when you want to attach to an international space station, humans should pass through this docking mechanism. So that way it will be a technology demonstrator," Surendran said.

Space Scientist Subhendu Pattnaik had explained before the launch that in the space docking experiment two spacecraft will be separated in a circular orbit around Earth. The spacecraft will maintain a distance of 20 kilometres, initially, for a few days and will be united so that the experiment is successful.

"Two spacecraft will be separated in the circular orbit around Earth. They will be kept apart around 20 km and gradually after a few days, they will be brought closer and closer...finally, both will be joined together...if we succeed in this experiment, India will become 4th nation in the world after Russia, China and USA, to successfully conduct that experiment," Pattnaik told ANI.

Meanwhile, following the successful launch of the SpaDeX mission, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh stated that India has become the fourth country to join the select league of nations to achieve space docking through its own indigenously developed "Bharatiya Docking System."

Taking to X, Singh said, "India has become the fourth country to join the select league of nations to achieve space docking, through its own indigenously developed 'Bharatiya Docking System.'"

"Privileged to be associated with the Department of Space at a time when Team #ISRO mesmerizes the world with global wonders, one after the other." the minister added.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for the launch of the NVS-02 satellite in January 2025, aboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), said ISRO Chairman S. Somanath earlier. Speaking about the upcoming mission, Somanath added that this mission is just one of many planned for the upcoming year.

"In 2025, we have many missions. To start with, we have the mission of GSLV launching the NVS-02 in January," Somanath said.

ISRO's year-end mission is historic as it seeks the rare feat of docking or joining together two satellites in space. The project has been named "Space Docking Experiment" (SpaDeX).

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 rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft (SDX01, which is the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target, nominally) in a Low-Earth circular orbit.

The technological challenge has been mastered only by a few countries and the indigenous technology used for this mission is called the "Bharatiya Docking System".

Docking technology is key for long-term missions like "Chandrayaan-4" and the planned Indian space station. It is also crucial for the eventual manned "Gaganyaan" mission. (ANI)