The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to resume experiments on its SpaDeX mission in mid-March.
The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30 last year when it placed in orbit two satellites – SDX01 and SDX02 – to demonstrate the docking experiment in space.
ISRO successfully docked the satellites on January 16 after multiple attempts.
This mission aims to develop and refine docking technologies crucial for future projects like Chandrayaan-4 and the Bharat Antariksha Station.
The unified satellite is currently in an elliptical orbit, providing a 10 to 15-day window every two months for conducting experiments.
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said the window for carrying out experiments on the SpaDeX satellites will be available from March 15.
“Right now, we are doing simulation experiments for separation of satellites and re-docking them. We have charted out a plan and will start the actual experiments from March 15,” Narayanan said.
It will first perform the undocking manoeuvre, separating the two satellites from each other above the planet.
Undocking will be crucial for the operations of the Indian space station proposed to begin assembly by 2035 in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
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“We want to do multiple experiments. There is a lot of propellant onboard. We also have experiments lined up for the third slot that would be available after two months,” Narayanan said.
The SpaDeX mission is a precursor to several ambitious Isro projects, emphasizing the importance of mastering docking technologies.
