SpaDeX: Space docking of Chaser and Target satellites; ISRO's crucial mission on 30th

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ISRO's complex experiment of docking and undocking two satellites in space will take place on the 30th. The satellites will be launched on PSLV's C60 rocket from the Satish Dhawan rocket station from Sriharikota at 9.58 pm. If the test is successful, India will become the fourth country to achieve this feat. For Chandrayaan 4 and the Indian Space Station, spacecraft parts can be assembled in space. Countries like America, Russia and China already have this technology.

The experiment of docking technology that connects two satellites in space is called 'SpaDeX'. The chaser and target satellites weighing 220 kg each will be launched for the test. They will be launched into an orbit at an altitude of 470 km above the Earth. There will be a distance of 20 km between the two satellites. The distance between them will be gradually reduced to 5 km, 1.5 km, 500 m, 15 m and 3 m. Later the satellites will be connected. The mission duration is 66 days. The satellites will remain in space for two years.

24 research instruments will be launched along with the mission. Fourteen of them belong to various labs of ISRO and ten belong to private universities. The two satellites were built and tested by Anand Technologies, Thiruvananthapuram.

Seeds will germinate in the remains of rocket

The fourth part of the rocket, which remains in space after delivering the satellites, will be seeded and tested. The recycling of rocket parts is called POEM 4 (PSLV Orbital Experiment Module). POEM 4 also has a robotic arm to grab space debris. There will also be facilities to test the green propulsion system. The plan is to germinate and grow eight cowpea seeds. The survival of the plant till it gets two leaves will also be checked. The experiment is part of the Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies developed at VSSC, Thumba. The seed experiment known as the Amity Plant Experimental Module in Space (APEMS) is developed by Amity University, Mumbai. The objective is to study the growth of spinach in a microgravity environment.