India Joins Elite Space Club With Successful Satellite Docking Mission

India has achieved a major milestone in its space program, successfully docking one satellite with another in orbit on Thursday morning, Al Jazeera reports.

The feat, dubbed the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), places India among a select group of nations – alongside the United States, Russia, and China – capable of performing this complex maneuver.

The SpaDeX mission launched on December 30th from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, carrying two satellites, Chaser and Target. After separation in orbit, the satellites carefully maneuvered to within 20 kilometers of each other, before Chaser gently approached and docked with Target. This achievement, celebrated at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters and hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “significant stepping stone,” demonstrates India’s growing expertise in advanced space technologies.

Why is Space Docking Important?

Space docking allows separate satellites to operate as a single, coordinated entity, pooling resources and enabling complex tasks that would be impossible for a single spacecraft. This technology is crucial for future ambitions of ISRO, including its goal of sending a manned mission to the moon by 2040, establishing a space station, and venturing to Venus. Docking capabilities are critical for constructing space stations, in-orbit refueling, and assembling large structures in the weightlessness of space.

“ISRO has demonstrated it is good at launching and putting things in orbit, as well as landing,” said astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury. “Now, docking is an important part of upcoming missions – and ISRO is now graduating to a very, very significant level.”

The Chandrayaan-4 mission, which will collect lunar samples and return them to Earth, will rely heavily on docking technology, as it involves multiple modules that need to connect in space.

Collaborative Approach

The SpaDeX mission also marked a significant step toward incorporating the private sector into India’s space activities. The mission included two dozen experiments from non-governmental entities, such as space-tech startups and academic institutions. This approach aims to foster a broader space ecosystem, with ISRO playing the lead role in supporting private sector innovation.

India’s Budget-Friendly Space Program

Despite ambitious goals and impressive achievements, ISRO operates on a comparatively small budget. While the Indian government has increased funding for space exploration, it still lags behind the budgets of other major space agencies. India’s recent Mars mission cost only $74 million, and its Chandrayaan-3 moon landing cost $75 million, a small fraction of what similar missions cost by other countries.

Former ISRO satellite centre director, Mylswamy Annadurai, explained that financial constraints have forced the organization to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions. These include using a single hardware module instead of multiple testers, employing modest launch vehicles, charting longer and slower trajectories, and using less fuel.

Raychaudhury notes that ISRO has long been known for its frugal approach, but argues that the focus should shift to its innovative approach.