ISRO to launch its SpaDeX mission tomorrow
December 29, 2024 14:31PSLV-C60 is ready to launch SpaDeX and 24 innovative payloads into orbit./Courtesy ISRO on X
The Indian Space Research Organisation is set to launch its year-end mission, "Space Docking Experiment" (SpaDeX), on Monday at 9:58 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR in Sriharikota.
The mission will use PSLV-C60.
As per the ISRO, the primary objective of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and demonstrate the technology needed for rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft (SDX01, which is the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target, nominally) in a low-Earth circular orbit.
"In addition, SpaDeX, because of its small size and mass, is even more challenging due to the finer precision required for the rendezvous and docking maneuvers compared to docking two large spacecraft. This mission will be a forerunner for autonomous docking needed for future lunar missions like Chandrayaan-4 without the support of GNSS from Earth," ISRO said in a statement. -- ANI