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Isro postpones SpaDeX mission to January 9, says more ground simulations needed

A successful space docking experiment will make India the fourth country in the world to have the capability.

The satellite was launched on December 30, with the docking initially planned for January 7 forenoon. (Photo: X/ @isro)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said Monday it has postponed its key Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission by a couple of days to January 9, saying this has been done to run some more ground simulations based on an “abort scenario” that has been identified.

A successful docking experiment will make India the fourth country in the world — after the US, Russia, and China — to have the capability. The satellite was launched on December 30, with the docking initially planned for January 7 forenoon.

“This has been done so that the accuracy may be improved after performing some simulations on the ground,” said an official.

The SpaDeX Docking scheduled on 7th is now postponed to 9th.
The docking process requires further validation through ground simulations based on an abort scenario identified today.

Stay tuned for updates.

— ISRO (@isro) January 6, 2025

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A video of the satellite extending its docking ring has been released by the space agency. The extended docking ring is the region where both the spacecraft will connect in space. The docking mechanism for the experiment is androgynous — the docking system is the same on both satellites, with either having the capability of acting as the chaser or target satellite.

The mission will see two small 220-kg satellites — the SDX01 Chaser and SDX02 Target — coming together, with the Chaser slowly reducing the distance between the satellites progressively to 5 km, 1.5 km, 500 m, 225 m, 15 m, 3 m, finally joining with the Target satellite on the day of the experiment.

The docking-undocking capability is essential for future missions that require heavy payloads which cannot be carried in a single launch. For example, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station will be built by bringing together five modules, the first of which is planned to be launched in 2028.

The planned Chandrayaan-4 mission will require docking capability because the re-entry module, which will be designed to withstand the heat of re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, will be launched separately. The transfer module carrying samples from the Moon will come and dock with the re-entry module in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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