Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Gates in the sky: On ISRO and SpaDeX

​Gates in the sky: On ISRO and SpaDeX

Docking technology allows ISRO to think of longer space flights

On December 30, 2024, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its PSLV-C60 mission. Its primary payload (The cargo or goods carried by a vehicle or spacecraft) was a pair of satellites for the Space Docking Experiment, or SpaDeX, to demonstrate (प्रदर्शित करना) orbital rendezvous (मिलन स्थल) and docking. The ability to execute it in orbit is an essential stepping stone to more complex missions. The launch was also hailed as ISRO ending the year on a high, but SpaDeX reminded us that sophisticated (परिष्कृत व्यक्ति, सुशिक्षित व्यक्ति) spaceflight missions care little for arbitrary (मनमाना) deadlines. The satellites successfully docked on January 16 after a few abortive (असफल, निष्फल) attempts. They were expected to dock on January 7, which ISRO postponed to January 9, then brought them close without docking on January 12 in an apparent data-taking effort. It nixed the January 9 attempt after the satellites were found to have drifted more than expected, prompting measures to arrest the displacement and reinitialise (पुनः आरंभ करना) the experiment. Once docked, ISRO began tests to verify if the satellites could exchange electric power, then undock and separate, followed by testing their own payloads that would be spread over two years. The C60 mission also launched the fourth stage of the rocket as an orbital platform. It carried 24 payloads from various ISRO centres and private enterprises testing various technologies. The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre’s Compact Research module for Orbital Plant Studies was able to have cowpea seeds germinate in orbit, capturing the popular imagination.

Docking allows spacefaring components to be launched separately and assembled in space to form a larger module. This allows a space agency to plan interplanetary missions whose spacecraft are heavier than what the heaviest rockets can launch. Docking is thus a symbolic gateway to new opportunities, with the Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission being a good example. In anticipation, ISRO loaded the SpaDeX satellites with enough fuel for multiple tries and also continuously collected data. Its own nervousness became evident, too: after the first two attempts, it backed down from its promise to live-stream the successful one. Docking technology has become desirable thanks to the perceived (To become aware of something through the senses or mind) inevitability (अनिवार्यता, अपरिहार्यता) of long-duration spaceflight. The pressure to lower costs imposed by, say, crewed missions to Mars or space-mining operations has rendered (प्रदान करना, प्रदर्शन करना) ideas such as in-space satellite servicing and orbital resupply platforms, both of which require docking, more lucrative (लाभदायक). ISRO plans to start launching the ‘Bharatiya Antariksh Station’ (BAS) later this decade. As it embarks on a new phase of operations, with V. Narayanan as its new chairman, ISRO should also describe a coherent (सुसंगत) vision for the ex ante utility expected of BAS. Without this context, the larger pieces of the Indian space programme and their purpose relative to other countries’ plans seem adrift.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Demonstrate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रदर्शित करना
English Meaning - To show or explain how something works or is done.

2.Rendezvous (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मिलन स्थल
English Meaning - A meeting at an agreed time and place, usually secretive.

3.Sophisticate (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिष्कृत व्यक्ति, सुशिक्षित व्यक्ति
English Meaning - A person who is cultured and has worldly knowledge.

4.Arbitrary (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मनमाना
English Meaning - Based on random choice or personal whim rather than reason or system.

5.Abortive (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - असफल, निष्फल
English Meaning - Failing to produce the intended result.

6.Reinitialise (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - पुनः आरंभ करना
English Meaning - To restart or reset a process or system.

7.Inevitability (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्यता, अपरिहार्यता
English Meaning - The quality of being certain to happen.

8.Render (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रदान करना, प्रदर्शन करना
English Meaning - To provide or deliver something.

9.Lucrative (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - लाभदायक
English Meaning - Producing a great deal of profit.

10.Coherent (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सुसंगत
English Meaning - Logical and consistent.

11.Perceive (Verb)

English Meaning - To become aware of something through the senses or mind.

12.Payload (Noun)

English Meaning - The cargo or goods carried by a vehicle or spacecraft.