Science & TechnologyImportant2025-01-16

ISRO Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) Success

Why focus: GS3 Sci/Tech. Promoted to cluster with NISAR. Tests autonomous space docking and orbital mechanics via Assertion-Reason.

In News

What Happened

On January 16, 2025, ISRO successfully executed the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) by precisely docking two 220 kg satellites, Chaser (SDX01) and Target (SDX02), in Low Earth Orbit. The spacecraft, launched aboard the PSLV-C60 rocket in December 2024, utilized indigenous autonomous rendezvous and docking systems. The complex maneuver involved automated alignment, mechanical capture, and successful rigidization.

Why It Matters

This achievement makes India the fourth country globally to master autonomous space docking. It proves a foundational technology required for future complex missions, including modular assembly of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station, crewed orbital transfers for the Gaganyaan program, and the Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample-return mission.

Background

History & Context

ISRO has been conceptualizing space docking for decades, but accelerated its development in 2016 in anticipation of human spaceflight and future space station requirements. The SpaDeX project was formally approved by the Government of India in 2017 with an allocated budget to develop indigenous rendezvous sensors, docking mechanisms, and control algorithms. The success is a direct stepping stone in ISRO's broader roadmap to establish the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035 and execute deep-space modular missions.

What Changed

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BEFORE: ISRO satellites operated completely independently, lacking the ability to physically connect or share resources once in orbit. NOW: ISRO spacecraft can rendezvous autonomously, mechanically link, and transfer power and control data seamlessly in orbit.
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BEFORE: India relied entirely on the payload capacity of a single launch vehicle to send mass into deep space. NOW: With docking capabilities, ISRO can launch heavy mission components across multiple rockets and assemble them in orbit, a necessity for Chandrayaan-4.
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BEFORE: Only the US, Russia, and China possessed operational orbital docking technologies. NOW: India joins this elite group by successfully demonstrating its indigenous 'Bharatiya Docking System' with autonomous built-in intelligence.

Prelims Angle

NCERT Connection

This mission is a real-world application of orbital mechanics covered in Class 11 Physics Chapter 8 — Gravitation. The precise maneuvering of the Chaser and Target satellites requires continuous manipulation of orbital velocity and altitude to ensure relative velocity becomes zero exactly at the point of physical contact.

Practice Questions

Q1

With Reference To

With reference to ISRO's Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), consider the following statements: 1. It made India the third country in the world to demonstrate autonomous space docking capabilities. 2. The mission involved docking the Chaser and Target satellites, which were launched aboard a GSLV rocket. 3. The demonstrated technology is a critical prerequisite for the upcoming Chandrayaan-4 sample-return mission. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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