In a historic move, the ISRO on Thursday successfully completed the docking of satellites as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), thus making India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to accomplish the feat

“Undocking and power transfer checks to follow in coming days,” the space agency said in a post on X.

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“Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment. Let’s walk through the SpaDeX docking process: Manoeuvre from 15m to 3m hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture. Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidisation for stability. Docking successfully completed,” it said in another post.

With the successful docking of satellites, India has become the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to accomplish the feat.

ISRO has launched two small spacecraft SDX01, the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target in a low-Earth circular orbit on December 30 and set them apart at a distance of around 20 km in space to facilitate a gradual rendezvous through the closing of the distance for a final docking.

The satellites launched by the space agency on December 30, earlier missed two docking schedules on January 7 and 9 due to technical issues. The postponement of the SpaDex docking schedules had come also amid the announcement of a change of guard at ISRO.

Distinguished scientist V Narayanan took charge as ISRO’s new chairman on January 14.

A trial attempt was carried out on January 12 to bring the two satellites up to 15 meters and 3 meters from each other and capture photos of each other.

The SpaDex (Space Docking Exercise) mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft launched by PSLV.

According to the ISRO website, after the docking and undocking events, the spacecraft will be separated and used for application missions.

Lauding the achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the team at ISRO. “Congratulations to our scientists at @isro and the entire space fraternity for the successful demonstration of space docking of satellites. It is a significant stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come,” he wrote on X.

Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State in-charge of science and technology, also congratulated the space agency.

“Finally made it. SPADEX has accomplished the unbelievable… docking complete… and it is all indigenous “Bharatiya Docking System”. This paves the way for smooth conduct of ambitious future missions including the Bharatiya Antriksha Station, Chandrayaan 4, and Gaganyaan. PM Sh @narendramodi’s continuous patronage keeps the spirits soaring… here at Bengaluru,” he wrote.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also hailed ISRO’s achievement as “historic” and noted that this success is a moment of pride for the entire nation.

“Bharat has become the 4th nation to successfully achieve space docking, marking a giant leap in our space capabilities. The SpaDex docking process was executed with flawless precision,” he said.

He called this milestone a proud moment for India and credited ISRO’s dedicated and talented scientists for their hard work and sacrifice. He said this achievement showcases their expertise and commitment to advancing space technology. “This is a moment of pride for India. Jai Hind!” he wrote.

The first actual Indian mission requiring the docking capability is likely to be Chandrayaan-4, which is supposed to bring lunar samples back to Earth. The re-entry module of this mission, which will be designed to withstand the heat of re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, is planned to 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.