BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is set for a busy end to 2024, with multiple high-profile missions lined up, including the crucial Space Docking Experiment (Spadex) scheduled for Dec 20. The mission will demonstrate crucial technologies for India’s future human spaceflight programmes and space station ambitions.
“…Our current date for Spadex is Dec 20,” Somanath confirmed to TOI.In an earlier exclusive interview, he had said “docking was an integral part of Chandrayaan-4 and Spadex was a precursor being planned for mid-Dec launch”.
As part of the mission, Isro will be splitting up a satellite and then re-uniting it in space. While the technology Isro is aiming to eventually have is one that will allow it to transfer humans from one vehicle or spacecraft to another, the immediate goal is to enable refuelling of spacecraft to give them a longer life and also transfer other crucial systems to an existing spacecraft, by transporting another to space.
The satellite we will launch will have two components. It will be separated into two pieces and then they will get docked into a single piece. This single unit will then function as a full-fledged satellite. This is a very crucial technology.
A successful SPADEX experiment will also give Isro data on space rendezvous technology — capabilities wherein two spacecraft can find each other and remain in the same orbit — advancements which are critical if India wants to have its own space station built in the future.
Proba launch by Dec 4-5
Another significant mission in Isro’s immediate pipeline is the launch of the European Space Agency‘s Proba-3 mission aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). This dedicated mission will demonstrate precision formation flying between two satellites to create an artificial eclipse, enabling new observations of the Sun’s corona.
While Isro was gearing up for a Dec 4 launch, recent weather predictions could see the launch be pushed by a day or two.
Proba-3 consists of two small satellites — a Coronagraph spacecraft and a solar-disc-shaped Occulter spacecraft. ESA said that by flying in tight formation about 150 metres apart, the Occulter will precisely cast its shadow onto the Coronagraph’s telescope, blocking the Sun’s direct light. This will allow the Coronagraph to image the faint solar corona in visible, ultraviolet and polarised light for many hours at a time.
“Through exquisite, millimetre-scale, formation flying, the dual satellites making up Proba-3 will accomplish what was previously a space mission impossible: Cast a precisely held shadow from one platform to the other, in the process blocking out the fiery Sun to observe its ghostly surrounding atmosphere on a prolonged basis,” ESA said.
Scientists hope Proba-3’s unique vantage point will provide new insights into the origins of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — eruptions of solar material that can disrupt satellites and power grids on Earth. The mission will also measure total solar irradiance, tracking changes in the Sun’s energy output that may influence Earth’s climate.
GSLV Mission by Dec 31?
Somanath said that a third launch, that of a GSLV, carrying India’s navigation satellite NVS-2, is being targeted for Dec 31.
“This GSLV was originally for Nisar. It was supposed to be launched and we couldn’t make the launch so then we got the NVS-2 NavIC satellite ready. It’s almost completed now. We need to complete this mission before building another GSLV for Nisar, which is now scheduled for next year. We are aiming for Dec 31 (NavIC mission), but we’ll take a call a bit later on this. It could even be Jan,” Somanath said.
