Two Indian Satellite Practising Dogfights In Space

Indian Space Agency (ISRO) practicing a rare and very compex "dogfight" between two different 'chaser' and a 'target' satellite in space, orbiting just about 500 kilometres above the Earth surface. This comes soon after Chinese defence satellites conducted "dogfights" in low Earth orbits in 2024.

Image:Two Indian satellites shows 'dogfights' in space

What is 'dogfights' in space-

Dogfighting in space refers to the concept of coordinated, close-range manoeuvres between spacecraft, similar to aerial dogfights between fighter jets.

Why ISRO practicing 'dogfights' in space

This 'dogfights' effort is another useful extension of the ambitious Spadex mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO. A mission with multiple societal and strategic objectives pulled off seamlessly.

Satellites speed during 'dogfights in space'-

The two Indian satellites - flying through space at 28,800 kilometres per hour, or a speed that is 28 times the speed of a commercial passenger jet and 10 times the speed of a bullet - are autonomously participating in this precise flight pattern operated by ISRO. The two satellites are conducting rendezvous and proximity tactics.

Docking process during 'dogfights in space'-

The experiment involved operating a heater element in one satellite through energy obtained from another satellite. The duration of energy 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 m till docking, whereas in the first docking attempt, an additional hold point was manually used at an inter-satellite distance of 3 m.

Detailed ground simulations and on-orbit tests were carried out before the second docking experiment, incorporating the experience gained from the first docking and undocking experiments, giving utmost confidence for the second docking performance.

The demonstration of a fully autonomous second docking with power transfer marks the completion of an important milestone in the SPADEX mission.

The first docking was achieved on January 16 this year.

Big achievement of india-

 ISRO successfully docked two Indian satellites orbiting in space at 475 km above the Earth, becoming the fourth country to learn docking after Russia, the US and China.

India launched the SpaDeX mission on December 30 last year using a PSLV rocket. Docking is an enabling technology for future missions like Chandrayaan-4 and the Indian space station.