Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh):

ISRO is gearing up to achieve a significant milestone with a Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle mission scheduled in January set to become the 100th launch from the Sriharikota spaceport, a top official said.

The 99th launch from Sriharikota was Monday’s PSLV-C60 mission which successfully placed two spacecraft for conducting the Space Docking Experiment in a circular orbit, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said.

“So, all of you have seen the majestic lift-off and the launch of the SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) rocket, and for us, this is the 99th launch of any vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre so, that is also a very important number. So, we are going for the 100th launch at the beginning of the next year”, he said.

Mr Somanath, also the Secretary, Department of Space, was talking to reporters after the PSLV-C60 mission successfully placed the Space Docking Experiment spacecraft A and B in a circular orbit.

On future launches planned by ISRO, Somanath said, “In 2025, we will have many missions to start with the GSLV launching the (navigation satellite) NVS-02 in the month of January.” ISRO successfully placed a navigation satellite onboard the GSLV-F12/NVS-01 rocket in May 2023. This GSLV rocket successfully deployed the NVS-01 navigation satellite, weighing about 2,232 kg into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The NVS-01 was the first of the second-generation satellites envisaged for the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) services.

On Monday’s PSLV-C60 mission, Mr Somanath expressed hope that many more Space Docking Experiments would be taken up by the scientists in the coming days.

“It is really an important mission with (India’s) space sector reforms and expansion of space activities. There will be many more SpaDeX varieties including complex missions of docking systems in the coming days,” he said.

Meanwhile, referring to the rescheduling of the PSLV-C60 rocket from the earlier planned 9.58 pm to 10 pm on December 30, Mr Somanath said, scientists do a conjunction study to check whether a satellite going to an orbit comes very close to another satellite while travelling in the same orbit.

“If you find there is any close proximity (between satellites), then we have to move the current satellite a little bit. Either, we delay it (the launch) or make it early, so that this proximity condition does not occur,” he said.

Scientists undertook time to fix the launch for the lift-off and decide on the best time which gives the maximum distance to be away from the other satellite in the orbit, he added. 

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu lauded ISRO’s successful PSLV-C60 mission, hailing it as a ‘milestone’ in India’s space exploration journey and a step closer to advancing human spaceflight capabilities.

Congratulations to @isro on the successful PSLV-C60 mission from Sriharikota, marking another space milestone! SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) is a pioneering mission to establish India’s capability in orbital docking, a crucial step for future human spaceflight and satellite… pic.twitter.com/CMBOTdkfwP

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) December 30, 2024

In a post on X, Mr Naidu said,” Congratulations to @isro on the successful PSLV-C60 mission from Sriharikota, marking another space milestone! SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) is a pioneering mission to establish India’s capability in orbital docking, a crucial step for future human spaceflight and satellite servicing.

“This success has propelled India closer to ambitious goals like Chandrayaan-4, Moon sample return, and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station,” Mr Naidu added.

In a significant milestone, ISRO on Monday launched PSLV-C60 with SpaDeX and innovative payloads from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

ISRO’s year-end mission is historic as it seeks the rare feat of docking or merging or joining together two satellites in space. The project has been named “Space Docking Experiment” (SpaDeX).
The first stage performance is normal.

SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft launched by PSLV. The primary objective of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and demonstrate the technology needed for rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft (SDX01, which is the Chaser, and SDX02, the Target, nominally) in a low-Earth circular orbit.

The technological challenge has been mastered only by a few countries and the indigenous technology used for this mission is called the “Bharatiya Docking System”.

“The success of this mission is vital for India’s future space ambitions,” Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh had said earlier.

Docking technology is key for long-term missions like “Chandrayaan-4” and the planned Indian space station. It is also crucial for the eventual manned “Gaganyaan” mission.

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Two spacecraft that would aid ISRO in demonstrating space docking, a critical technology for future space missions got separated successfully and were placed into the desired low earth orbit late on Monday night, ISRO said.

“PSLV C60 mission accomplished as of SpaDeX spacecraft is considered,” said Mission director M Jayakumar.

Dubbed as a prelude to ISRO setting up its own Space Station by 2035, the PSLV-C60 mission would also make India join an elite club in achieving this feat which is expected to take place in the coming days.

The 44.5 metre tall rocket carried two spacecraft — Spacecraft A and B, each weighing 220kg which would help in space docking, satellite servicing and interplanetary missions.

After the culmination of the 25 hour countdown which commenced on Sunday, the rocket lifted-off at 10 pm from the First Launch Pad at this spaceport, emanating thick orange coloured fumes and thunderous sound in the island, located about 135 km east of Chennai.

According to ISRO scientists, the two spacecraft-Spacecraft A (SDX01) or the ‘Chaser’ and Spacecraft B (SDX02) or the ‘Target’ would be merged together later at an altitude of about 470 km after travelling at the same speed and distance.

By mastering the docking technologies, ISRO is set to enhance its operational flexibility and also expand its mission horizons.

This technology is essential for some of India’s space ambitions like Indian on Moon, getting samples from the Moon (Chandrayaan-4 mission), building and operation of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

“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,” ISRO said.

The others to achieve this technological feat are China, Russia and the US.

While the Spacecraft has reached the desired orbit, in the coming days, scientists would take measures to merge the two by reducing the distance between them, ultimately leading to the docking of the spacecraft.

The launch of PSLV-C60 would be the last mission undertaken by the ISRO in 2024. Incidentally, the space agency began 2024 with the successful launch of PSLV-C58/XPOSAT mission on January 1.

Monday’s PSLV rocket also becomes the first vehicle to be integrated upto the fourth stage at the PSLV Integration Facility (PIF) that has been established at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

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