SpaDeX success will spur future missions

The success of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) is another major achievement of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that has placed India among a small group of countries with a set of exclusive technical capabilities.

The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30, 2024, aimed at having two satellites dock and undock in space. Only the United States, Russia and China had demonstrated the ability to accomplish these complex manoeuvres.

The docking was successfully done on January 16 after postponement of the mission a couple of times. The two satellites that functioned as one unit for 65 days were undocked on March 13. Both the docking and undocking manoeuvres called for high levels of technical expertise and the country can be proud that the national space agency undertook the operations with precision.

The satellites that were moving at a speed of about 28,000 kilometres per hour had to be brought together for the docking and subsequently undocked.

The mission demonstrated the capability for a transfer of electric power between the docked spacecraft, which is necessary for future operations involving in-space robotics, composite spacecraft control and payload operations.

The successful experiment will help the country move closer to launching manned space missions, conducting in-space satellite servicing and building its own space station. The setting up of a space station has been a long-time priority for India’s space programme.

It is necessary for carrying out space walks and is an important requirement for the Chandrayaan-4 mission planned for 2027 which aims to bring back samples from the moon. The docking and undocking capability comes as a crucial step towards these objectives.

There was another bright moment for ISRO last week when analysis based on the Chandrayaan-3 data revealed that there were strong possibilities of water ice sheets present in areas outside the polar regions of the moon. Earlier data based on Chandrayaan-1 had indicated the presence of water in the polar region.

Researchers at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad have now concluded that the presence of water in moon is more widespread. The discovery opens up the possibility of the moon having many sites in the high latitude areas closer to the poles harbouring water ice.

This is important because long-term exploration or habitation of the moon will likely depend on the availability of ice to provide water. These discoveries are critical at a time space powers are increasingly focused on lunar exploration.