This image provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shows Vikram lander as seen by the navigation camera on Pragyan Rover on Aug. 30, 2023. (Indian Space Research Organisation via AP)
India said it has successfully executed the first space docking experiment, becoming only the fourth country in the world to master a critical technology required for other ambitious projects.
“Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment,” Indian Space Research Organisation said in a post on X on Thursday. “Undocking and power transfer checks to follow in coming days,” it added in a separate post.
The mission is a key step toward meeting the country’s ambitions to build its own space station and carry out a manned mission to the moon. The U.S., Russia and China are the only other nations that have mastered docking capabilities.
For the Space Docking Experiment mission, or SpaDeX, India had put into orbit two small satellites on Dec. 30 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The technology allows India to transfer payloads, lunar samples, or eventually humans in space from one satellite or spacecraft to another, Jitendra Singh, the country’s space minister, said after the launch last month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to be a space power. In 2023, it became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, and is among a small group of nations with probes studying the sun.
In a post on X, Modi said the docking success is a “significant stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come.”
Separately on Thursday, India’s Cabinet approved $461 million for building a third launch pad in Andhra Pradesh.
