India Places Two Satellites In Orbit As Part Of Its Space Docking Experiment

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW DELHI, Dec 30 (KUNA) -- India came closer to joining an elite group of nations with space docking technology as Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully placed two satellites in intended orbit on Monday as part of its (SpaDeX) mission.
Chairman of ISRO S Somanath announced that the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C60) placed two satellites of Space Docking Experiment and 24 other payloads in the intended orbit.
"I announce the successful launch of the PSLV-C60 for the SpaDeX mission.
The rocket has placed the satellites in the right orbit. Congratulations to the entire team of the PSLV project who put the satellites in the right orbit.
Also, the Spadex team which worked in a very innovative, novel, cost-effective docking demonstration mission using two small satellite bus architectures." Somanath said.
The rocket lifted off at 10:00:15 PM (Local Time) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
If the mission succeeds, India will join the US, Russia and China having achieved the space docking technology.
"SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) is a pioneering mission to establish India's capability in orbital docking, a key technology for future human spaceflight and satellite servicing missions," ISRO said.
The two satellites namely SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target) weighing 220 each are equipped with high-resolution camera and a miniature multi-spectral payload whose imaging can be used for natural resource monitoring and vegetation studies.
ISRO said: "In-space docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives.
Through this mission, India is marching towards becoming the fourth country in the world to have space docking technology." (end)
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