India achieved a big space milestone again. On Monday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed that ISRO completed the second docking of SpaDeX satellites. He shared the update in a post on X.

He wrote, “As informed earlier, the PSLV-C60 / SPADEX mission was successfully launched on 30 December 2024. Thereafter, the satellites were successfully docked for the first time on 16 January 2025 at 06:20 AM and successfully undocked on 13 March 2025 at 09:20 AM. Further experiments are planned in the next two weeks.” ISRO launched the SpaDeX mission on December 30, 2024. It placed two satellites—SDX01 and SDX02—into space. The goal was to test docking technology in orbit.

First Docking and Undocking Successful

ISRO successfully docked the satellites for the first time on January 16. Later, on March 13 at 9:20 a.m., it undocked them on the first try.

The operation took place in a 460-kilometre orbit with a 45-degree tilt. Both satellites now orbit separately. Their systems are working normally.

This success proved that ISRO can handle rendezvous, docking, and undocking. These are critical skills for future space missions.

ISRO Chairman Explains the Mission

ISRO Chairman Dr. V Narayanan explained the process in detail. Speaking to ANI, he said:

“On January 16, we had a major achievement; we successfully docked both the satellites together, and it was rotating as a single body. Then, we wanted to separate it out, the undocking process, for that we carried out a lot of studies and analysis and we made a simulator and carried out 120 simulations, as there should not be any mistakes. On 13th March, at 9:20 am, in the first attempt itself, we succeeded in the undocking process.”

Focus on Crewed Missions

When asked about India’s future crewed missions, Narayanan shared his views. He said they carefully study all setbacks—big or small.

“We learn lessons from all small setbacks of us and others. This is a very complex technology, so we learn. Whatever setbacks are there, we are taking care of them, and we are quite confident in the type of effort that is put. The type of dedication of Indian scientists is something else.”

ISRO plans more experiments in the next two weeks. These tests will improve India’s capabilities in space docking. This progress will also support India’s future crewed space missions.