What Do We Know About SpaDeX, ISRO’s Latest Space Experiment?

ISRO successfully launched its final mission of the year, SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment), on Monday at 10 PM.

The PSLV-C60 rocket carried the experiment from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, after a two-minute delay.

SpaDeX aims to dock (unite) two satellites using the indigenous “Bharatiya Docking System,” a key step toward future missions like Chandrayaan-4, Gaganyaan, and India’s planned space station.

The experiment involves two identical satellites, SDX01 (“Chaser”) and SDX02 (“Target”), each weighing 220 kg, orbiting 470 km above Earth.

Key goals include validating power transfer between docked spacecraft and operating payloads post-undocking, with a projected two-year lifespan.