India docks two satellites in space, a milestone for its scientific ambitions

India docked two satellites in space yesterday to become the fourth nation in the world to achieve the mission, officials said, in an ambitious milestone in its expansion of space technology.

The Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, maneuvered back together the two satellites, weighing 220 kilograms (485 pounds) each, during a “precision” space docking experiment, known as SpaDeX, the space agency said. It called the operation as a “historic moment.”

In December, the satellites, Chaser and Target, blasted off on a single rocket from the Sriharikota launch site.

“India docked its name in space history!” the ISRO said in a post on social media site X. “Post docking, control of two satellites as a single object is successful.”

The mission was postponed twice earlier due to technical issues.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian scientists on the successful mission. “It is a significant stepping stone for India’s ambitious space missions in the years to come,” he said on the X platform. In 2023, Modi said that India’s space agency will set up an Indian-crafted space station by 2035 and land an Indian astronaut on the moon by 2040. AIJAZ HUSSAIN, JAMMU, MDT/AP