BENGALURU: Isro, which recently undocked the two satellites part of its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission on March 13, has successfully completed another experiment — the “rolling” or “rotating” experiment — which involved circumnavigation of one of the satellites and bringing it back to the same spot.
This experiment, being likened to the Chandrayaan-3 “hop” experiment the space agency conducted on Moon in terms of learning it provides for future missions, would help Isro validate multiple softwares, ground station control and more.
Isro chairman V Narayanan confirmed to TOI that the experiment was carried out last week, and said: “We’ve completed the rolling experiment. The satellites have a lot of propellant… I have only told [the teams] one thing, please do everything [on] simulation on ground [first]. Let us be very careful. Let us not make any mistakes as a wealth of data can be generated [through various experiments].
What was done
So, what exactly did Isro do? Imagine you and your friend outside a coffee shop on Church Street (Bengaluru).
After a long hug (docking), your friend has taken a few steps away (undocking) from you while still in your line of sight. Now, your friend either does a somersault or runs around making a circle, returning to her/his original position. That’s what happened with the satellite in the latest experiment.
During the whole time, the satellite performing the experiment was in the line of vision of the other satellite. The experiment was to help Isro validate its control over satellite manoeuvring from ground — that means a slew of softwares, sensors, positioning tech etc. There is no immediate confirmation if the satellite did the circumnavigation (do the full circle) horizontally or vertically (somersault).
Why it’s important
As reported by TOI earlier, Isro’s first docking on Jan 16, was only the first step towards Isro mastering this technology that is critical for several future missions, including the Chandrayaan-4 sample return mission to the Moon and human spaceflight missions part of the extended Gaganyaan programme.
Isro will need to dock in various conditions, some of which will be attempted as part of the current mission. Isro will conduct more docking as part of SpaDeX. “The next slot is only next month. We are planning many things,” Narayanan said.
Last week’s experiment will help Isro understand what it takes to bring an object to a desired spot from different orientations for docking. It will also help Isro learn whether docking could be done vertically and so on.
With a lot of fuel left in the satellite, Isro is expected to carry out more experiments. Afterall, SpaDex is an experimental mission and Isro is hoping to make the most of it. Also, once the next docking is complete, there will be another attempt to do power transfer between the satellites, learning from which — some lessons have already been learnt from the first attempt — will be crucial for future mission design and development.
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