PARLIAMENT QUESTION: SPACE DOCKING TECHNOLOGY

• Space docking = autonomous rendezvous + mechanical joining of two spacecraft in orbit; foundational for crewed missions, space stations, refuelling, and sample-return.
• India became the 4th country (after USA, Russia, China) to demonstrate space docking via SPADEX, docking SDX-01 & SDX-02 on 16 January 2025.
• Critical enabler for Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-4 (Lunar Sample Return), and Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) — hence Parliament-question salience.