New Delhi: ISRO has said that it has accomplished de-docking of the SpaDeX satellites, clearing the way for future missions, such as exploring the moon, human spaceflight and building its own space station.
Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences, and Science and Technology Jitendra Singh announced the successful de-docking of satellites in a post on ‘X’ on Thursday.
“SpaDeX satellites accomplished the unbelievable de-docking. This paves the way for smooth conduct of ambitious future missions including the Bharatiya Antriksha Station, Chandrayaan 4 & Gaganyaan,” he said.
“Congrats team ISRO. And heartening for every Indian,” he said.
Singh said Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s continuous patronage keeps the spirits soaring.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan also congratulated the team for making the mission a success.
“This is yet another major achievement and accomplishment in the history of ISRO. We have successfully de-docked the satellites. I understand the effort, the quantum of work and the smart work that was gone into it,” Narayanan said in a message.
The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30 last year when ISRO placed in orbit two satellites — SDX01 and SDX02 — to demonstrate the docking experiment in space.
ISRO accomplished the pivotal operation of undocking of SpaDeX satellites in the very first attempt on March 13 at 09:20 hours (ISD), the agency said in a statement.
The undocking of the satellites took place in a 460-km circular orbit with a 45-degree inclination, it explained.
The satellites are now orbiting independently and their health is normal, it added.
With this, ISRO has now successfully demonstrated all capabilities required for rendezvous, docking and undocking operations in a circular orbit.
ISRO said the in-orbit performance of the docked satellites was extensively analysed and an immediate opportunity was found to be feasible from March 10 to March 25. The entire operation was monitored through ground stations located in Bengaluru, Lucknow and Mauritius.
Having accomplished this major milestone of undocking, further experiments with satellites are planned in the coming days, ISRO said.
According to the agency, exhaustive ground simulations and analysis were the cornerstone of achieving the undocking in the first attempt. Various tests replicating on-orbit conditions were meticulously planned and carried out in preparation for the earliest opportunity for undocking operations.
ISRO said it has now successfully demonstrated space docking technology using two small satellites and termed it a cost-effective experiment.
