If the speed of 29000 km is not controlled then ISRO’s mission may be destroyed! SpaDeX will make India as ‘powerful’ as America, Russia, China

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is laying the foundation for a mission to space in late 2024 and early 2025, which will prove to be a milestone for future flights. This is SpaDeX Mission. The mission consists of two small spacecraft, each weighing 220 kg. These have been launched through rocket PSLV-C60. ISRO had launched SpaDeX i.e. Space Docking Experiment Mission on December 30 at 10 pm from Sriharikota. Under this, two spacecraft were deployed 470 km above the earth with PSLV-C60 rocket.
According to former ISRO scientist Vinod Kumar Srivastava, these vehicles will revolve 470 kilometers above the Earth. Of these, one satellite is Chaser (SDX01) and the other is Target (SDX02). The objective of this mission is to achieve successful docking, transfer energy to the docked spacecraft and operate the payload after undocking. Let’s understand what the Spacex mission is, how important it is and why it is being called a milestone for future flights.

Distance between 2 space satellites brought to 3 meters

ISRO conducted a successful trial of Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) last Sunday. ISRO kept the distance between two space satellites first at 15 meters, then at 3 meters. After this both the satellites were taken back to a safe distance. ISRO said, data analysis of the docking trial is being done. After this the further process will be completed. Docking of the SpaceX mission has been postponed twice. Docking was to be done first on January 7 and then on January 9.

What is the process of docking and undocking?

Vinod Kumar Srivastava, a scientist at ISRO, says that under the Spacex mission, the ability to ‘dock’ and ‘undock’ a spacecraft will be demonstrated. In simple words, the joining of one spacecraft to another is called ‘docking’ and the separation of two spacecraft connected in space is called ‘undocking’. This process is done very carefully, because there is a risk of the spacecraft colliding with another object at a speed of 28,800 km and getting destroyed. The Spadex mission is an economical mission.

Space docking is a very complex process, data must be used carefully.

According to Vinod Kumar Srivastava, this technology is essential for India’s space-related ambitions like Chandrayaan-4 and Gaganyaan. These include plans like construction and operation of the Indian Space Station and sending Indian astronauts to the Moon. ‘In-space docking’ technology is needed when multiple rockets need to be launched to carry out a common mission. This is a complex task, for which data is used in a very sensitive manner. This is the reason why ISRO is taking every step cautiously.

India becomes the fourth country after America, Russia and China

The two satellites sent into space under the Spadex mission are Chaser (SDX01) and the other Target (SDX02). Both of them will revolve around the Earth at high speed. Both of them will be placed in the same orbit with the same speed. It is also called ‘Far Rendezvous’. After the success of the Spacex mission, India has become the fourth country in the world after America, Russia and China to have space docking technology.

Vehicles went into space 10 times faster than the speed of a bullet

On December 30, two small spacecraft, Target and Chaser, were launched into separate orbits at an altitude of 470 km by a PSLV-C60 rocket. After this deployment, both the spacecraft went into space at a speed of about 29,000 kilometers per hour. This speed was 10 times more than the speed of the bullet. There was no direct communication link between the two vehicles. These were guided from the ground. Both the spacecraft are being brought closer to each other.

Laser range finder can also be used for docking

Vinod Kumar Srivastava explains that laser range finder was used while measuring the distance between 5 km to 0.25 km. Docking camera will be used for the range of 300 meters to 1 meter. At the same time, visual camera will be used at a distance of 1 meter to 0 meter.

Important information will be available for 2 years

Electrical power transfer between the two spacecraft will be shown after successful docking. Then there will be undocking of the spacecrafts and both of them will start the operation of their respective payloads. This will continue to provide valuable data for about two years.

So will India bring soil samples from the moon?

According to Vinod Srivastava, if the mission is further successful, India will become the fourth country to do so after Russia, America and China. India’s Chandrayaan-4 mission depends on the success of the mission, in which samples of lunar soil will be brought to Earth. Chandrayaan-4 mission can be launched in 2028.

What are SDX01 and SDX02, how do they work

SDX01 has a high-resolution camera (HRC) with a 4.5 m IGFOV and a field of view of 9.2 x 9.2 km (snapshot mode) and 9.2 x 4.6 km (video mode) mounted at an altitude of 450 km. This is a smaller version of the surveillance camera developed by SAC/ISRO. At the same time, a miniature multi-spectral payload (MMX) has been installed in SDX02. It has four VNIR bands (B1/B2/B3/B4) at 450 nm to 860 nm and a 25 m IGFOV with a field of view of 100 km from an altitude of 450 km. This imaging is useful for natural resource monitoring and vegetation studies.

What are SDX02, how do they work

SDX02 carries a Radiation Monitor (RADMON) payload, which will measure the radiation dose received in space. This will help in creating a radiation database for Total Ionization Dosimeter (TID) and Single Event Upset (SEU) measurements for future space science studies, which can be used in human spaceflight.

Because of this Spadex becomes more challenging

SpaceX is even more challenging because of its smaller size and weight, as rendezvous and docking maneuvers require greater precision than docking two larger spacecraft. This mission will be a precursor to the autonomous docking required for future lunar missions like Chandrayaan-4 without GNSS support from Earth.