In a groundbreaking achievement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on January 16 the successful in-orbit docking of two satellites launched on December 30. In a post on X, ISRO congratulated India on the successful separation of the SpaDeX satellites in orbit on Thursday, March 13.
For the undocking protocol, the SDX02 extended the arm connecting the two satellites to release the capture levers and then both the satellites were given the command to separate. As part of the undocking protocol, the SDX02 satellite extended its connecting arm to disengage the capture levers, after which both satellites received the command to detach and drift apart smoothly.
Spadex undocking captured from both SDX-1 & SDX-2! 🛰️🛰️🎥
Watch the spectacular views of this successful separation in orbit.
Congratulations to India on this milestone! 🇮🇳✨ #Spadex #ISRO #SpaceTech pic.twitter.com/7u158tgKSG
— ISRO (@isro) March 13, 2025
Union MoS(Ind.Charge)Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh commented on the successful de-docking of the SPADEX satellites. He emphasizes its importance for upcoming missions like the Bharatiya Antriksha Station, Chandrayaan-4, and Gaganyaan, while recognizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steadfast support for India’s space ambitions.
India on January 16, became the fourth country in the world to have space docking capability. Standing ahead India is the United States, Russia and China. The SpaDeX satellite consists of two components each weighing more than 200 kilos. Namely, Chaser (SDX01) and Target (SDX02), ISRO demonstrated sending commands to both satellites as one composite spacecraft.
This capability also sets the Chandrayaan-4 progress in motion to bring back lunar samples with an aim to take India to the Moon by 2040. The samples will require the specific de-docking facility to re-enter Earth’s orbit.