ISRO achieved a major milestone today with its fourth attempt at docking two satellites in space as part of the Spadex mission. According to ISRO sources, scientists have successfully executed the docking maneuver.
Currently, the team is conducting detailed data analysis to validate the success of the operation. An official announcement is expected to follow after the data review is complete.
Following previous postponments on January 7 and 9 caused by technical issues, the docking procedure was finalized on Thursday. This follows shortly after ISRO performed a test on January 12, positioning the satellites as near as 3 meters before separating them to safe distances for additional examination.
ISRO sources verified the mission’s success and stated that an official announcement will be made after analyzing the video.
The SpaDeX mission, initiated on December 30 using PSLV, included two satellites weighing 220 kg each: SDX01 (the Chaser) and SDX02 (the Target). Located in low-Earth orbit approximately 20 km apart, these satellites slowly decreased their separation for a final meeting and docking.
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“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,” Isro said in an update.
