SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) is one of ISRO’s most significant steps towards developing autonomous docking technology, crucial for India’s growing space ambitions. Docking systems allow two spacecraft to connect in orbit, enabling critical operations like assembling space stations, refueling, or transferring astronauts and cargo. SPADEX is key to achieving India’s long-term space exploration goals, including manned spaceflight, satellite maintenance, and future space station construction.

The mission involves two vehicles—‘Chaser’ and the ‘Target’—coming together and connecting in space. It will also test how well the combined spacecraft maintains stability and control after docking, ensuring smooth operations for future missions.

Once docked, the two spacecraft will later separate to perform additional tasks. This experiment is crucial for ISRO to develop the skills needed for advanced missions, such as human spaceflight and lunar sample returns. Mastering these docking and rendezvous techniques is essential for the success of such ambitious operations.

Hyderabad-headquartered Ananth Technologies, an aerospace and defence company, successfully completed the satellite integration project for ISRO. This also marks a private player joining the SPADEX Mission. Ananth Technologies Private Limited (ATL) successfully assembled two 400 kg satellites for ISRO and delivered them to the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru. This centre is responsible for designing and developing satellites for various space missions. “We have been manufacturing electronic subsystems for ISRO since 2000 and have been an integral part of every Indian space programme over the last two decades,” Subba Rao Pavuluri, chairman of ATL, said.

ALSO READ: Why ISRO’s involvement in ESA’s PROBA-3 mission is a milestone

ISRO usually builds its satellites at the URSC. However, for the first time, the complete assembly, integration and testing of satellites have been handled by an Indian private company at a private facility. This change is possible thanks to the recent space sector reforms, which provide more opportunities for private companies to participate in India’s space missions. Since the satellites have arrived at the URSC, they will soon be transported by truck to the Indian Spaceport in Sriharikota. There, they will undergo further testing, be fuelled, and be prepared for launch in the coming months.

“Docking plays a vital role in managing space stations and undertaking complex space projects. Astronauts travelling to a space station depend on precise docking to connect their spacecraft safely, allowing them to transfer smoothly between vehicles. This process ensures a secure journey and helps complete missions successfully, whether the astronauts remain in space or return to Earth,” remarked space expert Girish Linganna.

He said when two satellites approach each other at speeds of around 8 kilometres per second, they must coordinate carefully to avoid a collision. Using cameras or lasers, the lead satellite slows down to allow the trailing one to catch up smoothly. Once aligned, the two satellites connect to form a larger system. These precise connections enable more complex operations and allow multiple components to function together, expanding what can be achieved in space beyond the limits of a single satellite.

“In addition to supporting human spaceflight, docking is critical for constructing larger space structures. By connecting different spacecraft and modules, docking makes it possible to build advanced facilities in orbit and expand space exploration. Without these techniques, large-scale space projects would not be feasible,” added Linganna.

READ MORE: Ananth Technologies successfully completes satellite integration project for ISRO

ISRO has acquired two satellites, each weighing 400 kg, for a SPADEX mission. In this mission, a single rocket will launch both satellites into space, placing them in slightly different orbits. This setup is essential to test how well the satellites can approach, align and dock with each other in orbit, demonstrating key technologies for future missions.

The two satellites, travelling at about 28,000 km/h (or around 8 km per second), will carefully align with each other to perform a ‘space handshake’, where they will connect and attach mechanically, becoming a single unit in orbit. This experiment is important because mastering docking is essential for future missions, such as Chandrayaan-4 and India’s proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Space Station.

The history of docking systems dates back to the Cold War when the Soviet Union achieved the first successful docking in space. On October 30, 1967, the Soviets completed the historic docking of Kosmos 186 and *Kosmos 188—the first fully automated docking between two unmanned spacecraft. This paved the way for later space exploration efforts, including long-term stays aboard space stations. The United States followed this with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, which was the first international docking between NASA and the Soviet space agency, marking a new era of cooperation despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Docking technology has evolved considerably since then. Early systems required significant manual input from astronauts, but advances in automation have changed this dramatically. Russia’s Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, which service the ISS, have highly reliable automated docking systems. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which relies on spacecraft like SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, also uses automated systems, often with the International Docking System Standard (IDSS) for compatibility across different space missions. China, too, has developed its Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, which docks autonomously with the Tiangong space station, showcasing its growing sophistication in space operations.

“India’s SPADEX experiment is unique because it focuses on developing indigenous, scalable, and cost-effective docking technology. This experiment involves two spacecraft docking autonomously in orbit, demonstrating precision, navigation, and control capabilities critical for future missions. SPADEX is designed to serve a wide range of spacecraft sizes and mission objectives, including potential collaborations for building space stations or deep space exploration,” remarked Srimathy Kesan, founder and CEO of Space Kidz India, which is into design, fabrication and launch of small satellites, spacecraft and ground systems.

India is advancing in space exploration at an accelerated pace. ISRO’s recent successes, such as the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which made a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole, and the launch of Aditya-L1 to study the Sun, demonstrate the agency’s capabilities. “SPADEX aligns with these achievements, reinforcing ISRO’s long-term vision for space exploration, especially as the Gaganyaan mission approaches. Gaganyaan, India’s first manned mission scheduled for 2025, will require docking technology to ensure safe crew transfer and module operations. SPADEX is integral to this, as autonomous docking will be essential for future crewed missions, satellite servicing, and space station operations,” said Kesan. 

Guerrilla Games has been working on the Horizon series for years, and it shows no signs of slowing down, which is bad news for fans of Killzone, its initial franchise. In a new interview, a Guerrilla developer said the studio was “done” with the hyper-dark shooter series when it pivoted to making Horizon Zero Dawn.

“We were done with it as a team. As a studio, we needed to refresh the palette. It was, by choice, the opposite of Killzone,” art director Roy Postma told The Washington Post.

Guerrilla Games officially began making games in 2003, and its first big hit was Killzone, a dystopian sci-fi first-person shooter. It went on to make five Killzone games in total, with four developed after Sony purchased the developer. However, when it pivoted to making Horizon, it left Killzone behind, capping off the series with Killzone: Shadow Fall in 2013.

There haven’t been many mentions of Killzone from publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment, either. There were three Killzone cameos in Astro Bot, which pulled characters from all of PlayStation history, but that’s about it. Servers for Killzone: Mercenary on PlayStation Vita were shut down in 2020.

The studio didn’t go too much lighter in tone with Horizon Zero Dawn, but it’s going down the family-friendly route with its next release, Lego Horizon Adventures, on November 14. It’s a retelling of Horizon Zero Dawn, but with blocky characters, a more playful sense of humor, and simplified gameplay. In a preview at Summer Game Fest, we found it had a “childlike charm” that can help parents share the series with their kids. The team is also releasing Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered on October 31. Recent reports also claim that Guerrilla is working on “Horizon online” ahead of a third mainline game.

Don’t expect any Killzone news from Guerrilla, but who knows, maybe with the recent trend of remasters and remakes (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is coming to consoles on December 10, as one example), we can see something from another studio.

Audeze has announced a new version of its Maxwell wireless gaming headset with the Wasabi Edition. It’s a “spicy” new flavor that as the name suggests, displays brilliant green and yellow hues that shift when looking at the headset from different angles.

The Audeze Maxwell is one of the top gaming headsets on the market, and it’s become one of our favorites after having tested it over the last several weeks. The headset normally comes in one color outside of these limited edition variants. A sleek gunmetal gray with a matte finish. The Wasabi Edition comes in a glossy finish for a more eye-catching look, especially with how bright the colors are.

The iridescent green/yellow design, while new, follows the same style as Audeze’s previous limited edition Maxwell headset that came in Ultraviolet. Much like that headset that came out last year, the Wasabi Edition is only available in limited quantities. It was released today, and Audeze still appears to have stock available too. The fact that it’s limited though likely means the stock won’t be available for too long. You are paying a little bit of a premium for this model as opposed to the standard color as well. However, the price increase isn’t drastic.

The Maxwell Wasabi Edition retails for $329, whereas the standard model is $299. So you’re only looking at $30 more.

The Audeze Maxwell Wasabi Edition is compatible with Xbox, PC, and mobile

It’s important to point this out since the headset lists Xbox, PC, and mobile as the only compatible platforms. However, the Wasabi Edition should work just fine with PS5. Several users with the standard Xbox model have claimed that it works on PS5 and there’s no reason it shouldn’t. After all, it uses a USB-C low-latency adapter for the connection. So all you need to do is plug that in. That being said, the Wasabi Edition was designed in partnership with Microsoft for Xbox.

All that really means is that it’s part of Microsoft’s Shimmer campaign for officially licensed Xbox accessories. And that it can take advantage of the Dolby Atmos spatial audio that Xbox offers.

There are no differences between this and the standard edition

Other than the color, of course. Outside of the color though the headset is completely the same. Audeze has confirmed this. So if you don’t care for the green and yellow iridescent color, you aren’t missing out on any features. With that said, the Wasabi Edition gets the same great ANC and immersive audio capabilities as the other models. The detachable mic is the same as well. So, it may look different, but it will sound just as good as the other Maxwell versions. No worse, no better.

It is more flashy, and that makes it perfect for anyone who enjoys a little color with their gaming peripherals. You can only buy this directly from Audeze while supplies last.

The latest Reltio platform update advances the vendor’s AI capabilities beyond natural language processing to include its core data unification capabilities.

Like many data management and analytics vendors, Reltio developed an AI-powered assistant that enables users to work with their data using natural language rather than code. Reltio Intelligent Assistant was included in an early 2024 platform update and is similar to tools from peers such as Informatica.

Reltio’s new update, launched on Oct. 21, includes the general availability of FERN, which is an acronym for Flexible Entity Resolution Networks. FERN is an AI-powered data matching engine built using pre-trained large language models (LLMs) and is designed to enable users to match customer data so they can develop a more complete view of each customer.

In addition to FERN, Reltio’s platform update is highlighted by new automated customer segmentation capabilities in Customer 360 Data Product, which is Reltio’s AI-powered platform for customer data.

With its focus on AI and automation to reduce time-consuming tasks and make users more efficient, Reltio’s update is significant for customers, according to Doug Henschen, an analyst at Constellation Research.

“Reltio is pushing AI innovation in this release with both dynamic segmentation and the FERN customer data matching engine,” he said. “In both cases it’s using AI to be more responsive to changing business conditions while also augmenting humans by eliminating tedious manual work steps.”

Based in Redwood City, Calif., Reltio is a master data management vendor whose platform is geared toward helping customer unify their data. In addition to Informatica, competitors include specialists such as Semarchy and Stibo Systems as well as more broad-based vendors including Boomi, SAP and Tibco.

In June, the vendor’s platform update included prebuilt master data management capabilities with industry-specific tools and, like its October update, features aiming to improve segmentation. More recently, in August, Reltio unveiled an integration with Collibra designed to help joint customers better discover and govern data assets across different organizational domains.