SpaDeX Mission Lifts Off:  India's SpaDeX mission, designed to research and demonstrate the technologies required for spacecraft docking and undocking in space, was launched tonight (December 30) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota aboard the PSLV-C60.

The 44.5-metre-tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carried Spacecraft A and B, each weighing 220 kg, which would aid in space docking, satellite servicing, and interplanetary missions. It was billed as a precursor to ISRO's establishment of its own Space Station by 2035.

At the end of the 25-hour countdown, PSLV-C60, on its 62nd flight, rocketed from the first launch pad at this spaceport, releasing heavy orange colour fumes.

Originally slated for Monday at 9.58 PM, ISRO officials rescheduled the lift-off until 10 PM. However, the cause for the delay was not officially disclosed.

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In addition to broadening the scope of its missions, ISRO stands to gain more operational flexibility by becoming proficient in space docking technologies.

Besides the SpaDeX mission, ISRO scientists have configured the fourth stage of the rocket (PS-4) as the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-4 (POEM-4), in which 24 small payloads, 14 from ISRO and 10 from academia, will be placed in various orbits over 90 minutes after liftoff.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh discussed the mission on Saturday. "ISRO's year-end mission is going to be a historic one as it will seek the rare feat of docking or merging or joining together two satellites in space," he said, as quoted by news agency IANS. He added that the indigenous technology for this mission is named the "Bharatiya Docking System".

The Union MoS highlighted the mission's complexity, stating, "ISRO will attempt to dock two satellites orbiting at speeds of 28,800 km/h, reducing their relative velocities to a mere 0.036 km/h."

A high-resolution camera on SDX01 and a tiny multispectral payload with a radiation metre on SDX02 are SpaDeX's main payloads. Applications like vegetation studies and resource monitoring will be supported by these.