India has decided to delay its initial attempt to dock two spacecraft in Earth’s orbit in order to conduct more tests. This delay is part of the country’s preparation for crucial technology tests as it looks ahead to its future space ambitions.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Space Docking Experiment, known as SpaDeX, was set to connect two small satellites in low Earth orbit on the evening of Monday, Jan. 6 (Jan. 7 India Standard Time) after successfully launching them on a PSLV rocket on Dec. 30. This test will be ISRO’s first trial of a domestically developed automated space docking system.
“The SpaDeX docking scheduled for the 7th has now been postponed to the 9th,” ISRO officials mentioned in a mission update on the social media platform X on Monday. “The docking process requires further validation through ground simulations based on an abort scenario identified today.”
ISRO’s SpaDeX mission is intended to assess automated rendezvous and docking technology for use in future missions to the moon and near Earth space by both robotic and crewed spacecraft.
Related: India launches 2 SpaDeX satellites on ambitious space docking test for future moon mission, space station
The mission “will mark India’s entry into the exclusive league of nations capable of mastering space docking,” Jitendra Singh, India’s Minister of State for Science and Technology, stated in a statement before the launch. The United States, Russia, China, Japan, and the European Space Agency have all developed docking technology for crewed spacecraft, with Japan and Europe utilizing it for uncrewed cargo ships visiting the International Space Station.
ISRO is aiming to construct Bharatiya Antariksha Station, a crewed space station orbiting the moon, by 2040. Docking technology will be crucial both during the station’s assembly phase and its crewed operations. India also intends to launch Chandrayaan-4, a sample-return mission to the moon’s south pole, by 2028. This mission will necessitate docking a sample capsule with a return spacecraft for the journey back to Earth.
During the SpaDeX mission, a Chaser satellite will approach and dock with a Target satellite while both fly about 290 miles (470 kilometers) above Earth. Each SpaDeX satellite weighs about 485 pounds (220 kilograms).
In addition to the twin SpaDeX satellites, ISRO also launched a separate suite of 24 experiments on a POEM-4 platform attached to the upper stage of the mission’s PSLV rocket. These experiments include several innovative demonstrations, such as India’s first crawling robotic arm (similar to the Canadarm2 on the ISS), a separate robot arm for capturing space debris, and other technology payloads.
