India continues to demonstrate the growing capabilities of its space program, having reached a new historical stage.
Two satellites of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully performed a docking maneuver in Earth's orbit 15 January, as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX). This event made India the fourth country in the world, which was able to dock spacecraft in space. Before this, only the USA achieved such success, China and Russia.
The SpaDeX mission has begun 30 December aboard the PSLV rocket, aiming to test automated docking technology in action, developed in India.
Docking technology is key to the implementation of India's ambitious space projects, such as the construction and operation of the Indian orbital station Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), the return of samples from the Moon as part of the Chandrayaan-4 mission, as well as future interplanetary missions. It is especially important in situations, when several rocket launches are necessary to achieve common goals.
The construction of the space station BAS is planned to be completed by 2035 year. This project will become the basis for long-term orbital research and will help India reach a new level in space research.
in addition, the country is actively working on the Chandrayaan-4 mission, which aims to return samples from the surface of the Moon. Its launch is tentatively scheduled for 2028 year, and it will be an important step towards the development of deep space.