GUWAHATI, Jan 16: India became the fourth country after Russia, China and the United States to successfully dock satellites in space. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) took to social media on Thursday to inform that “spacecraft docking [has been] successfully completed.”
ISRO termed it as a “historic moment”.
“India became the 4th country to achieve successful Space Docking. Congratulations to the entire team! Congratulations to India!,” ISRO posted on ‘X’.
The Space Docking process was one of the primary goals of ISRO’s SpaDeX Mission which was launched on December 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO scientists and other team members on achieving the historic feat.
“Congratulations to our scientists at @isro and the entire space fraternity for the successful demonstration of space docking of satellites,” he wrote on ‘X’.
Space docking, considered essential for future human and space missions, is achieved when a spacecraft can manoeuvre and attach itself to a space station.
The NASA defines docking as “mating operations where an active vehicle flies into the mating interface under its own power”.
ISRO, meanwhile, explained the SpaDeX docking process.
“Manoeuvre from 15m to 3m hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture. Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidisation for stability. Docking successfully completed,” the Indian space agency posted on ‘X’.
