India has achieved a significant milestone in space exploration by becoming the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to successfully execute an unmanned docking in space. The Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) saw two small spacecraft, each weighing approximately 220 kg, perform a docking maneuver in low-Earth orbit on Thursday, an event hailed as “a historic moment” by the Indian space agency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X (formerly Twitter) to commend the achievement, noting that it’s a crucial step for India’s future space missions. The spacecraft, named Target and Chaser, were launched into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh on December 30, 2024, using an Indian-made PSLV rocket.
The SpaDeX mission is not just about the docking; it also includes demonstrating the transfer of electric power between the docked spacecraft, which is vital for future operations involving robotics, spacecraft control, and payload management.
This achievement has caught the attention of space enthusiasts in China, with some expressing admiration on social media platforms like Sina Weibo, celebrating with comments like “Let’s have dumplings to celebrate this moment,” recognizing India’s advancement in space technology.
However, experts like Wang Yanan from Aerospace Knowledge magazine caution that while this is a significant milestone, the technology demonstrated is still far from what is needed for manned missions. The scale of the spacecraft involved in SpaDeX is much smaller compared to those used for human spaceflight, which require capabilities like fuel transfer, personnel exchange, and life support systems over larger docking interfaces.
Kang Guohua, from the Chinese Society of Astronautics, echoed this sentiment, pointing out the technological gap for handling ton-class spacecraft, yet he acknowledged the step-by-step progress in space technology.
India’s recent space achievements, including a lunar landing in 2023 and a Mars mission in 2014, underline its growing prowess in space. Looking forward, there’s potential for collaboration with China, especially if India considers docking modules to China’s space station for quicker research outcomes. However, India’s choice to pursue an independent space station would entail overcoming further technological and strategic challenges. The global space community watches with interest as India continues to carve its path in space exploration, with experts like Wang expressing hopes for more cooperation between China and India, should India make further breakthroughs in manned spaceflight.
