Indian space agency ISRO recently successfully performed space docking for the first time, connecting two small spacecraft in space. This event, apart from being a tremendous technological achievement for the country, carries a greater social dimension as India's opening to space is the opening of hope for 1.4 billion people towards a better future.
Technology is essential for the country's future ambitions to build an Indian space station and send a person to the moon. The mission, called SpaDeX, was launched from the Sriharikota launch pad in southern India on December 30. The two spacecraft, launched with a single rocket, separated in space. The docking procedure, initially scheduled for January 7, was rescheduled several times. Last January 16, 2025, the space agency announced it made history, as it became the fourth country to dock spacecraft in orbit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) office in Bangalore as scientists conducted the test. "It is a significant milestone for India's ambitious space missions in the coming years," he later posted on X. Union Minister of Science and Technology Ministry Jitendra Singh expressed relief that the docking had finally taken place. The two spacecraft in SpaDeX (short for Space Docking Experiment) are named SDX01 or Chaser and SDX02 or Target. Each weighs about 220kg and since their launch, have been travelling through space at a carefully selected speed.
"They were thrown into space together, but at the moment of separation, they were placed at different speeds to allow them to create a distance of 10-20 kilometers between them," said Mila Mitra, a former NASA scientist and co-founder of the space education company Stem and Space based in Delhi, to the BBC. "During the docking, the scientists maneuvered them to close that distance, allowing them to mate," she added.
The docking was initially scheduled for January 7, but ISRO later delayed it by two days, saying it "needed to conduct a few more tests through simulations" before the actual docking. The second time, it said there had been a glitch while trying to bring the satellites closer, but added that the spacecraft were safe. Later, ISRO stated that scientists managed to reduce the distance between the Chaser and the Target first to 15 metres and then to three meteres. They said that after the trial attempt, S Somanath, who was head of ISRO when SpaDeX (short for Space Docking Experiment) was initiated and monitored its progress until his departure a few days ago, had described the docking as "a very complex process" that required exceptional precision and coordination. To begin with, the two spacecraft had to be in the same orbit for the Chaser to start approaching the Target. On Thursday morning, scientists gradually began by actually reducing the speed of the two spacecraft - bringing them closer and closer until they were just three metres apart. Then, their latches locked together.
In the next step, the two spacecraft were perfectly mated, creating an airtight passage for the safe transfer of material or crew, completing the space docking. An ISRO official told the BBC that over the next two to three days, the mission will carry out what is considered one of its most important experiments - it will transfer electrical energy from the Chaser to the Target. This, Mitra says, is to prove a spacecraft can be sent to service another in space. The experiment will then demonstrate the "separation and removal of the two satellites." Mitra also added that this mission will also test India's capabilities for satellite communication, as during the docking and undocking, the spacecraft will need to communicate with the station on Earth and also with each other, so they know their position and speed.
But what is the social and political resonance of this achievement, and how will it affect the country's future?
With this achievement, India enters an elite group of countries that lead in space exploration, which includes the US, China, and Russia. Additionally, India, with its successful foray into space, will reduce the cost of future space missions as it will have saved money by starting now. India will target the Moon's south pole with a sample return mission. The mission will include landing on the Moon, sampling, docking in lunar orbit, and safely returning to Earth with the samples.
"This will also demonstrate our capability for a crewed landing mission," said P. Veeramuthuvel.
Last year India announced it is planning on sending astronauts to the Moon by 2040. This space mission is also strengthening India's business ecosystem. With this mission the country sends multidimensional messages to the world. The first message to the West, is that India with the company Space Anath, is here to stay when it comes to space exploration. India is now open to private enterprises in space. This achievement also increased the number of space startups in India. Finally, it is important that through this achievement, India's trade ties with Europe and America are strengthened as India imports raw materials from them and more specifically callium arsenide solar cells from the US and cryogenic materials from Russia.
India says its space technology is directly set to the welfare of its people. The satellites monitor weather patterns, predict cyclones and enable evacuations of places in time. In 2019, IMD was able to accurately forecast the exact location where the cyclone was to make landfall officials in Odisha, Andra Pradesh and West Bengal and 11.5 million of people were able to evacuate in time. Secondly satellite communication is supporting financially India. The potential of the Indian satellite landscape communication has grown exponentially through the years.
Other key areas where satellites provide support include cellular backhaul, enterprise networking, rural connectivity, as well as in-flight, rail and maritime communications. Satellites can give precision to agriculture by optimizing crop planning though the precise prediction of the weather.
India’s successful space mission will contribute a lot to the country’s economy and technological future and sets an example for other nations that want to strengthen their economy to focus in space missions more than military equipment to acquire technological sustainability.
Dimitra Staikou graduated from Law School and has a Master's degree in theatre. She writes for news and media platforms Proto Thema, Eleutheros Typos and Skai.gr.