NEW DELHI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced the postponement of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) for the second time.
The space agency decided to postpone the process as the drift was found to be "more than expected" as the satellites approached the distance of 225 meters.
"While making a maneuver to reach 225 meters between satellites, the drift was found to be more than expected, post non-visibility period. The planned docking for tomorrow is postponed. Satellites are safe," said ISRO in a post on X (erstwhile Twitter) late Wednesday night.
Only an hour before the postponement, ISRO had announced that it had initiated the drift on the SpacecraftA to move closer from 500 meters to 225 meters.
The space agency launched the SpaDeX mission on Dec. 30 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C60) with the two satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), 220 kg each, onboard. ■