December 29th 2024.
On Monday night, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is preparing to launch two satellites from the Sriharikota spaceport. The aim of this mission is to demonstrate the docking and undocking of spacecraft in orbit, a remarkable feat that has only been achieved by three other countries in the world so far.
According to officials from the space agency, the two satellites, named SDX01 and SDX02, will be placed in a 476-kilometer circular orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which has been the go-to rocket for ISRO for many years. The space docking experiment is scheduled to take place in the first week of January and marks India's entry into the exclusive league of nations with the capability to master space docking.
Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh expressed his excitement about the upcoming mission, stating that it will pave the way for India's future endeavors in space exploration. This includes plans to bring back rocks and soil from the moon, establishing the proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Station, and landing an astronaut on the lunar surface. Currently, only the United States, Russia, and China have achieved space docking technologies.
The primary goal of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and demonstrate the necessary technology for rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft in a low-Earth circular orbit. An ISRO official explained that the secondary objective of the mission is to showcase the transfer of electric power between the docked spacecraft, a crucial element for future applications such as in-space robotics and composite spacecraft control.
Singh emphasized the importance of this capability for India's lunar and interplanetary missions, as it enables multi-launch missions and supports future human spaceflight. Once the docking and undocking experiments are successfully demonstrated, the two satellites will continue to orbit the Earth for standalone missions over the next two years.
The SDX01 satellite is equipped with a High Resolution Camera, while SDX02 carries two payloads - Miniature Multispectral and Radiation Monitor. These payloads will provide high-resolution images, monitor natural resources and vegetation, and measure the radiation environment in orbit, which has numerous applications according to ISRO.
Aside from the two main satellites, the PSLV-C60 mission will also carry 24 payloads from various ISRO labs, private start-ups, and educational institutions. These payloads will be mounted on the fourth stage of the PSLV rocket, which will remain in orbit for a few weeks before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. The PS4-Orbital Experiment Module will also be on board, providing an opportunity for the scientific community to conduct microgravity experiments for up to three months using the platform. This helps prevent space debris and maximizes the use of the mission.
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