SpaDeX satellites placed 230 m apart, health normal, says ISRO

The two Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) satellites that the ISRO aims at uniting in orbit are currently separated by a distance of 230 m, with their health status deemed “normal”, the space agency said on Saturday.

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On Friday evening, the satellites were separated by 1.5 km. ISRO said the distance would be reduced to 500 m by Saturday morning.

In a post on X, ISRO said, “Arrested at Inter Satellite Distance (ISD) of 230 m, all sensors are being evaluated. Spacecraft’s health is normal.” The space agency, however, has not committed to a date for conducting the docking experiments, which will bring the satellites together in space.

The SpaDeX project has already missed two announced schedules for docking experiments on January 7 and 9. ISRO successfully launched the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission on December 30.

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.

ISRO said SpaDeX was a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft that was launched by PSLV. This technology is essential for India’s space ambitions such as Indian on Moon, sample return from the Moon, the building and operation of Bharatiya Antariksh Station, etc.

In-space docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve mission objectives. Through this mission, India is marching towards becoming the fourth country to have space docking technology.