ISRO to launch two satellites tonight to demonstrate docking and undocking of spacecraft in Orbit

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch two satellites tonight from Sriharikota to demonstrate the docking and undocking of spacecraft in orbit, which will make India the fourth country in the world to achieve the feat.

ISRO’s warhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will place the two satellites SDX01 and SDX02 in a 476-km circular orbit and attempt the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDEx) in the first week of January. 

The SpaDEx mission is expected to be a stepping stone for India’s future endeavours in space exploration which include getting rocks and soil from the moon on Earth, the proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Station and landing an astronaut on the lunar surface. Only the US, Russia and China have mastered space docking technologies.