Big tension for China, Pakistan as Indian satellites are practicing “dogfight” in space for…, aim is to…

India's ISRO successfully conducted a second docking manoeuvre of its SPADEX satellites (SDX 01 and SDX 02) on April 20.

Satellite Dogfighting in Space: From carrying rockets on a bicycle to landing a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole, the journey of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and India’s space sector is nothing less than a fairy tale. Now, India’s dominance in space is continuously increasing as the country has emerged as the cheapest option to launch other countries’ satellites in space. From Chandrayaan-3 to Aditya L-1, India has proved its prowess in the space sector to the world. In the recent development, India is conducting a rare and very sophisticated “dogfight” in space between ‘chaser’ and ‘target’ satellites, orbiting about 500 km above Earth. ISRO is going to conduct the operation after Chinese defense satellites practised ‘dogfight’ in the low Earth orbit last year. Notably, a dogfight in space refers to the strategic, close-quarters maneuvering of spacecraft, similar to aerial dogfights between fighter jets.

Improved Expansion Of Spadex Missions

The unique effort by India is another extension of ISRO’s SpadeX mission. ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan told NDTV that SpadeX mission in India has successfully shown the ‘docking and undocking process twice’. He informed that after the extended docking and undocking manoeuvres, both the satellites still had 50 percent fuel left.

What Is The View Of Space Like?

According to reports, the two Indian satellites – flying in space at a speed of 28,800 kmph participated autonomously in this precise flight pattern. Both satellites conducted rendezvous and proximity operations. A recent near-encounter between two satellites happened after days of manual movements to adjust their orbits.

China Also Conducted “Dogfight”

The Dragon also demonstrated its capabilities by several satellites. Even the United States mentioned that its rivals are closing the technology gap.

SPADEX Satellites Continue To Make An Impact

India’s ISRO successfully conducted a second docking manoeuvre of its SPADEX satellites (SDX 01 and SDX 02) on April 20, followed by a successful power transfer test between the two satellites on April 21st.

Heat Transferred From One Satellite To Another

Notably, the experiment also involved operating a heater element in one satellite through power from the other satellite. The duration of power transfer was about 4 minutes, and the performance of the satellites was as expected. In the second docking attempt, docking was accomplished with full autonomy from an inter-satellite distance of 15 meters. In the first docking attempt, an additional hold point was manually used at an inter-satellite distance of 3 meters.

The first docking was achieved on January 16 this year. ISRO successfully docked two Indian satellites orbiting in space at 475 km above the Earth, making it the fourth country to learn docking after Russia, the US and China.

India launched the SpadeX mission using its reliable and low-cost PSLV rocket on December 30 last year. Docking is an enabling technology for upcoming missions such as Chandrayaan-4 and the Indian Space Station.