Space docking opens up endless opportunities for private sector, say industry bodies

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Space industry associations Thursday said the successful satellite docking manoeuvre by ISRO opened up endless opportunities, such as India’s own space station, much closer at a time when the private sector was witnessing rapid growth.

ISRO said on Thursday it has successfully performed the docking of two satellites as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), which was a crucial step towards several future missions, including the setting up of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

"It truly opens doors to many possibilities, from furtherance of our space programmes to establishment of our own space station in future," Indian Space Association (ISpA) Director General Lt Gen A K Bhatt said.

He said the success of the docking experiment also brought endless opportunities much closer, especially when the private space industry was moving forward and growing rapidly.

Satcom Industry Association-India President Subba Rao Pavuluri said the success of ISRO was an inspiration for everyone associated with the space ecosystem.

Pavuluri's Ananth Technologies was closely associated with the SpaDeX mission as the two satellites that performed the docking experiment were assembled, integrated and tested at its facility in Bengaluru.

"We are proud to be a major contributor in another landmark programme in India's space journey," he said.

Ananth Technologies delivered critical components, including Rendezvous Processing Units (RPU) and DC-DC converters for SDX01 and SDX02 satellites that were launched on December 30 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

The company also undertook the Assembly, Integration and testing of various PSLV-C60 sub-assemblies, and supplied 29 key subsystems, including Data Acquisition Units, Transmitters, Power Modules, NAVIC processors and control modules. PTI SKU SKU NSD NSD