Monthly Space News Recap - January 2025
Top 5 of the month's most interesting space updates
ISRO launches long-awaited Space Docking experiment
ISRO successfully docked (connected) the two spacecraft: ‘Chaser’ and ‘Target’ part of the SpaDeX experiment in space. This puts India along with Russia, China and the USA as the only countries to achieve space docking before; a capability essential for building space stations and lunar sample return missions, both of which ISRO intends to do soon.
POEM-4 in action: ISRO's first robotic arm and more!
After putting SpaDeX in orbit, the 4th stage of the rocket was converted into an orbiting laboratory called POEM-4. Onboard this lab ISRO recently operated its first-ever robotic arm in space and celebrated the germination of cowpea seeds marking the first time life has sprouted on an ISRO craft.
Gaia shuts down after 12 years
Last month ESA shut down its Gaia space telescope after nearly 12 years of service. An important feature of the telescope was that it was always spinning to cover the sky at different angles. However, it recently ran out of the propellant it used to spin, forcing ESA to shut it down.
Starship test ends with spacecraft breakup
SpaceX recently conducted the 7th test launch of its Starship rocket. Although they managed to recreate the famous booster catch from test 5, the spacecraft disintegrated around 9 minutes into the flight. The spacecraft was supposed to go halfway around the world, splash down in the Indian Ocean and release 10 dummy satellites into orbit, none of which happened in the latest flight.
SpaceX achieves 400 rocket landings
In 2015, SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon-9 rocket on land—a first for any rocket capable of putting satellites in orbit. It has been nearly ten years since then, and recently, SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket completed its 400th rocket landing after putting 27 Starlink satellites in orbit.
