Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved a significant milestone in the Spadex mission with the successful testing of a robotic arm designed to capture space debris. A video demonstrating the operation of the robotic arm, developed at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, was shared by ISRO. This robotic arm can capture and aggregate small satellite fragments and debris floating in space.
This marks the second test of the robotic arm conducted by ISRO in recent days. The robotic arm was successfully operated from the POEM-4 platform. The Relocatable Robotic Manipulator Technology Demonstrator (RRM-TD), developed by ISRO's Inertial Systems Unit (ISU), facilitated this operation using four joints to reach its target.
ISRO's Spadex mission, which aims to establish a presence in space by 2035, has successfully launched two satellites: Chaser (SDX-01) and Target (SDX-02), along with 24 experimental instruments. These instruments are housed in the orbital experimental module (POEM) that orbits Earth.
The docking of the two spacecraft was initially scheduled for January 7 but has been postponed to January 9. The satellites are positioned in a circular orbit approximately 470 kilometers from Earth, starting with a separation of about 20 kilometers.
As the satellites orbit the Earth, they will gradually decrease their distance before completing the docking process. Following this, they will perform a procedure called undocking, functioning as a single spacecraft while sharing energy and data before separating again into two distinct satellites, expected to operate for about two years.
The docking technology will also be utilized in future lunar missions, including Chandrayaan, and in the Gaganyaan mission aimed at sending humans into space. The proposed Indian Space Station will similarly be constructed by integrating various spacecraft.
This is the first time India is testing docking technology in space, a capability currently possessed only by the United States, Russia, and China. The International Space Station was constructed using this technology, which involves the integration of various components launched multiple times.