India has become the fourth country to successfully dock two spacecraft in space. Earlier only Russia, America and China have been successful in doing so. ISRO said that the docking experiment was completed on the morning of January 16.
Missions like Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan and Indian Space Station depended on the success of this mission. In the Chandrayaan-4 mission, samples of moon soil will be brought to Earth. At the same time, humans will be sent to space in the Gaganyaan mission.
ISRO launched the Space Docking Experiment Mission on 30 December 2024 at 10 pm from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. Under this, two spacecraft were deployed 470 km above the Earth with PSLV-C60 rocket.
On January 7, both the spacecraft were to be connected in this mission, but it was postponed. Then on January 9 also the docking was postponed due to technical difficulties. On January 12, after bringing the spacecrafts close to 3 meters, they were taken back to a safe distance.
What was the Spadex mission objective: Show docking and undocking technology to the world
To show the technology of docking and undocking of two small spacecrafts in low Earth orbit.
To demonstrate the technology of transferring electric power between two docked spacecrafts.
Space docking means joining or connecting two spacecrafts in space.
Spadex mission process: Know how both spacecrafts came close
On December 30, two small spacecraft target and chaser were launched into different orbits at an altitude of 470 km from the PSLV-C60 rocket.
After deployment, the speed of both spacecrafts became about 28,800 kilometers per hour. This speed was 10 times more than the speed of a bullet.
There was no direct communication link between the two spacecrafts. They were guided from the ground. Both spacecraft were brought close to each other.
Laser range finder was used while covering the distance between 5 km to 0.25 km. Docking camera was used for the range of 300 m to 1 m. Whereas visual camera was used at a distance of 1 m to 0 m.
After successful docking, now in the coming days electrical power transfer between the two spacecraft will be shown. Then the spacecrafts will be undocked and both of them will start the operation of their respective payloads. Valuable data will be obtained from this for about two years.
Why mission is necessary: The success of missions like Chandrayaan-4 depends on this
The technology will be used in Chandrayaan-4 mission in which samples from the moon will be brought back to Earth.
Docking technology will also be needed to build a space station and then to go there.
This technology is also necessary for Gaganyaan mission in which humans will be sent to space.
This technology is necessary for satellite servicing, interplanetary missions and sending humans to the moon.
India took a patent on its docking mechanism
This docking mechanism has been named ‘Indian Docking System’. ISRO has also taken a patent on this docking system. India had to develop its own docking mechanism, as no space agency shares the details of this extremely complex process.
24 payloads were also sent in the mission for experiments
24 payloads have also been sent in this mission for experiments in microgravity. These payloads were in the fourth stage of the PSLV rocket called POEM (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module). 14 payloads are from ISRO and 10 payloads are from non-governmental organizations (NGE).
The US performed the first docking on March 16, 1966
The first docking of two spacecraft in space was accomplished on March 16, 1966 in the Gemini VIII mission. The Gemini VIII spacecraft docked with the Agena Target Vehicle, which was launched earlier that day.
The Soviet Union (now Russia) docked two spacecraft in space for the first time on October 30, 1967. The unmanned Kosmos 186 and 188 docked automatically. The docking was an important step in the Soviet Union’s return to flight program.
China’s first space docking took place on November 2, 2011, when the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 space lab module. The docking took place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu, China.
