ISRO has capped a year of notable achievements by launching the country’s first space docking mission, SpaDeX. On Monday, the agency’s workhorse, PSLV, placed two satellites in Earth’s lower orbit. The two space vehicles, “Chaser” and “Target”, will drift out in the coming days through a series of carefully choreographed manoeuvres. ISRO scientists will then attempt to reduce the distance between the two, ultimately leading to the docking of the spacecraft. India’s premier space agency expects the operation to last little more than a week. SpaDeX’s success will place India in an elite group of nations with space docking capacity, which currently includes only the US, Russia and China. Docking is essential for missions that require heavy spacecraft and equipment that cannot be launched in one go — the International Space Station, for example. SpaDeX is pivotal for India’s space ambitions, including a manned foray to the Moon and the operation of the country’s space station. It could also open up opportunities for India’s space research agency to partner global missions that require docking facilities.
In the last two years, ISRO has transitioned from an agency that placed satellites in orbit —largely for communications, weather prediction and atmospheric surveys — to an institution that leads planetary exploration. The launch of Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-1 in 2023 was followed last year by the setting up of the first space observatory to study the polarisation of cosmic X-rays. In September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved the Venus Orbiter Mission to study different facets of Venus including its surface and atmosphere and Chandrayaan-4, which intends to collect soil and rock samples from the Moon and bring them back to Earth. The country is expected to make its maiden attempt at sending humans to space next year. The precursor missions for this landmark foray will be launched this year. The new era of Indian space exploration will be markedly different from recent ventures like the Moon mission of 2023. Chandrayaan-4, for instance, will have five components, launched at different times and then integrated into two separate modules. Similarly, the Bharatiya Antariksha Station will have five modules that will be brought together in space — the first of them is scheduled for launch in 2028. SpaDeX will lay the ground for these missions.
The payload launched on Monday also carries incubators of several experiments, including a box carrying eight cowpea seeds which, if plans go right, will develop to a two-leaf stage in space. In recent years, ISRO has sent signals that it has enough expertise to contribute to all aspects of planetary research. In 2025, and beyond, many more journeys await the agency.
