The Star-Gazer Behind Spadex

As India and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) celebrated the success of the maiden docking of two satellites, SDX-01 and SDX-02, in low earth orbit in the early hours of January 16, an apparently nondescript gentleman sat proudly smiling in the background.

- BOSKY KHANNA

He was Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission project director N Surendran, who on December 31, 2024—when the PSLV-C60 launcher lifted off with the mission from Sriharikota—had exuded confidence that the experiment would be a success. That confidence rode on the hard work under his supervision of the mission.

Coming from a humble background, the 1965-born Surendran recollects his journey from a time when he watched the moon and the stars as a little boy sitting on the beach near his house in Tuticorin (now Thoothukudi) in Tamil Nadu, to taking over as the SpaDeX project director in 2023-end.

The challenging mission under Surendran was not just about docking two satellites in space. The mission also involved the PS4-Orbital Experiment Module (POEM-4), which featured using the spent fourth stage of the Polar Synchronous Launch Vehicle, which otherwise would be wasted as space debris.