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.

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.