ISRO Postpones Docking of SpaDeX Satellites Again

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has postponed its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDex) mission which was scheduled for Thursday, after the satellites drifted more than expected during a manoeuvre, ISRO said in a statement on Wednesday.

This is the second time that the docking experiment has been postponed.
It was originally scheduled for January 7.

In a post on X, ISRO said, "While making a maneuver to reach 225 m between satellites, the drift was found to be more than expected post non-visibility period."

"The planned docking for tomorrow is postponed. Satellites are safe," it added.

Earlier, on Monday, the ISRO had postponed the docking of its SpaDex mission program, initially scheduled for January 7, 2025. The new date for the docking has been set for January 9, 2025. ISRO has not provided any specific reason for the schedule change.

On December 30, ISRO achieved a historic feat by launching PSLV-C60 with SpaDeX and innovative payloads.

The SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft launched by PSLV. The primary objective of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and demonstrate the technology needed for the rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft (SDX01, which is the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target, nominally) in a low-Earth circular orbit.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, last week said that the SpaDeX mission was named "Bharatiya Docking Technology" because it is purely an indigenous mission, and India is carrying out the first such experiment related to docking technology.

The Union MoS further stated that SpaDeX's mission very much aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Aatmanirbhar Bharat."

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