India has made its first space docking and has become the fourth country in the world to achieve this important milestone

Today, on January 16, India became the fourth country in the world to successfully perform an unmanned docking in space. This feat is considered key for future missions as it cements India's place as a global space power.

So far, only the United States, Russia, and China have developed and tested a docking capability. This space technology is critical, particularly for satellite maintenance, CNN reports.

"Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment," representatives of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on their X network page.

According to the scientists, the Indian Space Agency's mission, called the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDex), involved the deployment of two small spacecraft, Target and Chaser, each weighing about 220 kilograms, in Earth orbit.

"The SpaDex mission marks the beginning of a new era in space exploration, showcasing India's technological prowess and ambition," said Space Minister Jitendra Singh.

According to ISRO, prior to the docking, India conducted a preliminary test during which the two satellites gradually approached each other in orbit until they reached a distance of 3 and then returned to a "safe distance."

The successful docking took place after the experiment was postponed twice on January 7 and 9 due to technical problems, as the spacecraft drifted too much to get closer, experts say.

In 2023, India joined the elite space club, becoming the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon. The historic Chandrayaan-3 mission, which was the first to make a soft landing near the unexplored South Pole of the Earth's satellite, collected samples that help scientists understand how the Moon formed and evolved over time.

As part of its ambitious plans, India plans to launch its first manned mission into space in the next few years and send an astronaut to the moon. It also plans to launch its first orbital mission to Venus in 2028.

According to experts, the country also aims to build its own space laboratory by 2035, which will be called the Bharatiya Antariksha Station.

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