ISRO releases video of historic space-docking test of satellites under SpaDex mission

Bengaluru: ISRO on Friday released a video of the successful docking of satellites as part of its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) that made India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to accomplish the technological feat.The video showed the coupling of the satellites in the space. It was followed by new ISRO Chairperson V Narayanan greeting the space agency team which made it a success.

“ISRO successfully completed docking of two SPADEX satellites (SDX-01 & SDX-02) in the early hours of January 16, 2025,” the space agency said in the caption for the video it released on ‘X’.

In space, docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives.

The docking experiment is crucial for the smooth conduct of the country’s ambitious future missions, including Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan, setting up a space station and landing an astronaut on the moon.

ISRO has also said that the undocking and power transfer checks will follow in coming days.

Last October, the government announced that India will have its own Space Station by 2035, known as the “Bharatiya Antriksh Station”.