CNN
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India on Thursday became the fourth country to achieve an unmanned docking in space, a feat seen as crucial for future missions as New Delhi cements its place as a global space power.
The United States, Russia and China are the only other countries to have developed and tested the docking capability.
“Spacecraft docking successfully completed!” A historic moment,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on X.
The Indian space agency’s mission, called the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDex), involved the deployment of two small spacecraft, weighing about 220 kilograms each, into low Earth orbit. The two spacecraft, called Target and Chaser, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in southern Andhra Pradesh state on December 30 aboard an Indian-made PSLV rocket.
On Thursday, they had a meeting before docking together.
“Congratulations to our scientists at ISRO and the entire space fraternity for the successful demonstration of space docking of satellites. This is an important stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.
Docking technology is essential for future space projects, such as satellite servicing and when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve mission objectives.
Domestically developed docking technology will be crucial if India is to successfully realize its ambition of sending an Indian national to the Moon, building a local space station and returning lunar samples, according to ISRO.
The technology will allow India to transfer materials from one satellite or spacecraft to another, such as payloads, lunar samples or, ultimately, humans in space, Singh told reporters during a press conference on December 31.
As part of the mission, the docked spacecraft will also demonstrate the transfer of electrical energy between them, once linked. This is essential for the operation of in-space robotics, spacecraft control, and payload operations on future missions.
Before docking, India conducted a “test attempt” on Sunday during which the two satellites were gradually brought closer together in orbit until they reached 3 meters apart, before to return to a “safe distance”.
The successful docking came after the experiment was postponed twice, on January 7 and 9, due to technical problems and the spacecraft drifting more than expected during a maneuver to bring them closer together.
India’s space ambitions have accelerated under Modi, who was elected to a third term last June and has tried to assert India’s place on the world stage.
In 2023, India joined an elite space club, becoming the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon. The historic Chandrayaan-3 mission, the first to make a soft landing near the Moon’s unexplored South Pole, collected samples that help scientists understand how the Moon formed and evolved over time.
As part of its ambitious plans, India aims to launch its first crewed mission to space in the next few years and send an astronaut to the Moon – a feat the United States has never achieved – d by 2040.
The country also aims to build its own space station by 2035, which will be called “Bharatiya Antariksha Station”, and launch its first orbital mission to Venus in 2028. It also plans to return lunar samples as part of its current program. Chandarayaan lunar program in 2027.
India has also made a major effort to commercialize its space sector in recent years, allowing private enterprise and easing approvals for foreign investments, which have focused on building and launching small satellites into Earth orbit bass at a lower cost.
For Sunday’s docking experiment, the rocket and spacecraft were integrated and tested by private company Ananth Technologies, marking a first for the country.