ISRO launches space docking satellite, on its way to India’s elite club. The final stage of the PSLV has 24 payloads. India News – Times of India

India on Monday moved a step closer to becoming part of an elite group of nations with space docking technology – the ability to connect two spacecraft in space. IsroPutting two small satellites weighing 220 kg into orbit.
The satellite, part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission, lifted off from the first launch pad at the Sriharikota space base on PSLV-C60 around 10 pm. They were placed into a circular orbit of 475 km about 15 minutes later. The first of the two satellites separated 15.1 minutes after liftoff, and the second at 15.2 minutes.
According to M. Sankaran, Director, UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC), the satellites – ‘chaser’ and ‘target’ spacecraft – will be launched separately, initially with a small relative velocity between them. Will be left with.
As reported by TOI earlier, the satellites, through a series of carefully choreographed manoeuvres, will distance themselves from each other in the next few days before ISRO tries to shut them down. If ISRO manages it successfully, India will take the first serious step towards mastering this technology, which till date only USA, Russia and China can boast.
“The rocket put the satellite into the correct orbit. The satellites moved behind each other. Their distance will increase to about 20 kilometers over the next few days before we close the gap and attempt docking. We Hoping to complete the docking in the coming week, the nominal date for this is January 7,” ISRO Chairman S Somanth said shortly after the launch.
This mission is critical to India’s future space efforts, including Chandrayaan-4. and the planned Bharatiya Antaraksh Station (BAS), as confirmed by ISRO Chairman S Somanth.

24 POEM payloads

Apart from the basic docking experiment, the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) carried out 24 advanced payloads, including several important experiments: India’s first astronomical payloads among the highlights, including the RV College of Engineering spaceship. Microbiological experiments studying the behavior of gut bacteria, and are prominent. Amity University Investigation of Spinach Growth in Microgravity.
ISRO is also launching its CROPS (Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies) payload to demonstrate seed germination in space, a robotic arm designed to capture space debris and a state-of-the-art intersatellite. There is a communication system. ISRO will demonstrate a unique “walking” robotic arm with 7 degrees of freedom, intended for future space station operations.
The private sector has also sent payloads to POEM: PierSight, an Ahmedabad-based startup, launched Varun, which could be India’s first private artificial aperture radar (SAR) satellite for maritime surveillance. The company aims to establish 32 satellite constellations by 2028 for comprehensive ocean monitoring.
Other payloads are Mumbai-based Manastu and Bangalore’s Bellatrix Aerospace, both testing their respective green propulsion technologies, while Bangalore’s GalaxEye is showcasing its SAR signal processing technology and Hyderabad’s TakeMe2Space nanosatellite subsystems. is demonstrating
Other participating academic institutions include SJC Institute of Technology and MIT World Peace University. SJC from Karnataka is sending a multi-mode message transmitter payload that can transmit audio, text and image messages from satellite to Earth using FM modulation and VHF band. It is designed to provide worldwide amateur radio satellite services. It was designed in collaboration with Isro’s URSC.