Tue Dec 31 03:40:40 UTC 2024: ## ISRO Successfully Launches Twin Satellites, Poised to Become Fourth Nation with Space Docking Capability

**Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh:** The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its 62nd PSLV mission on Monday night, deploying two satellites designed for a groundbreaking space docking experiment. The PSLV-C60 rocket lifted off at 10 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, illuminating the night sky with its fiery exhaust. Within 15 minutes, the twin satellites, part of the SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission, were placed in their designated orbit.

ISRO Chairman Dr. S. Somanath confirmed the successful deployment and announced that the satellites are in the correct orbit. The satellites, designated Spacecraft A (‘Chaser’) and Spacecraft B (‘Target’), are scheduled to dock at an altitude of approximately 470 km on January 7th. This will involve a complex maneuver, with the satellites traveling at ten times the speed of a bullet, before merging.

A successful docking and subsequent undocking would establish India as only the fourth nation globally to possess this advanced space docking technology. Dr. Somanath explained that docking is a crucial mechanism for joining multiple space objects for various purposes, and can be achieved using a variety of techniques, including soft and hard mechanisms or pressurized compartments for human transfer.

This mission, the 99th launch from the Sriharikota spaceport, marks a strong end to 2024 for ISRO, following a previous PSLV launch on January 1st. The next phase involves conducting 24 experiments on the POEM (PS4-Orbital Experiment Module) over the coming weeks. The experiment will continue to lower its orbit to conduct tests in the vacuum of space.

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