SPADEX: a twin satellite mission

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is developing the Space Docking Experiment (SPADEX), a twin satellite mission, to advance technologies for orbital rendezvous, docking, and formation flying. These technologies could be used for human spaceflight, in-space satellite maintenance, and other proximity operations.

Launched as co-passengers or supplemental payloads, SPADEX consists of two IMS class-2 class (400 kg) satellites, "Chaser" and "Target”, which will be injected into slightly different orbits and will engage in docking at an altitude of roughly 700 km.

The launch of SPADEX is scheduled on December 30, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on a specially designed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, marking a crucial step toward India's space station and Chandrayaan-4 success.

As of July 2022, ?124.47 crore (or ?132 crore or US$16 million in 2023) had been approved for funding for the Space Docking Experiment. In October 2024, the SPADEX mission's satellites underwent more testing. By November 2024, the testing process is completed. Complete simulation demonstration was performed on it. And is scheduled to launch by December 2024. After launch, ISRO will need ten days to achieve docking and test astronaut safety technology.

Although docking will be the primary objective of the satellites, they will also carry various other payloads. The imaging payloads are also technological demonstrations designed to investigate ways to attain high-performance capabilities in satellites that are smaller and nanoscale. Through the testing of these small payloads, the mission aims to open the door for future, more efficient, and smaller remote sensing satellites. With this strategy, technological developments and cost savings in satellite and space exploration are made possible.

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