Joining the exclusive club of the USA, Russia, and China, India successfully tested an anti-satellite (A-Sat) missile to destroy an orbiting satellite at an altitude of almost 300 km last week. The move witnesses India finally shrugging off its longstanding reluctance to flex military muscle in space. As informed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a national announcement, India test-fired the three-stage interceptor missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on March 27. A little over an hour later, Modi announced the success of 'Mission Shakti' in a televised address.
The 18-tonne missile, with two solid rocket boosters, tore into space to hit the 740 kg satellite, flying in a low earth orbit (LEO), bang in the middle barely three minutes after its launch over the Bay of Bengal. Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Satheesh Reddy said that while work on the ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme was going on for years, "the project only got the official go-ahead about two years ago. And we got into mission mode only six months ago." Reddy added that all technologies for the A-Sat mission were developed endogenously.
He said, "In the A-Sat test, we achieved an accuracy of a few centimetres, meeting all technical parameters and objectives. We have the capability to do it at much higher altitudes but conducted the test in LEO or lower atmosphere to ensure the space debris decays and falls back to earth." A top defence scientist said, "The mission was a direct ascent kinetic kill. The relative velocity between the missile and the orbiting Microsat-R satellite, which was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on January 24 for the test, was around 10 km per second."
The move has adversely affected India's two neighbours and pseudo-enemies, Pakistan and China. While Pak mocked India for the test, and said it was aking to attacking imaginary enemies, China stayed guarded and only said it hoped each country would uphold peace in outer space. The 'satellite killed' missile has considerable strategic significance as it gives India the capacity to match China's ability to strike down "enemy" satellites. While China achieved the capacity 12 years ago, and has until now, made major strides in the film, India's recent success gives it the technological competence to target satellites, knocking out an adversary's eyes and ears in space.
Meanwhile, DRDO scientists are confident it "can go up to 1,000 km" if required. A defence source said, "We need the capability to neutralise surveillance, communication, navigation and other military satellites during a conflict to render enemy forces deaf and blind as well as disrupt their precision-targeting capabilities."
Modi said the A-Sat test has made India the fourth country to acquire this "global space power" status. He said, "The new capability we have developed is not directed against anyone. India has no intention to threaten anyone."
ISRO puts intel sat in orbit with 28 others
In a historic victory, ISRO successfully launched an intelligence-gathering satellite along with 28 smaller satellites from its Sriharikota facility. The feat was witnessed by over 1,000 visitors- a first in ISRO history as until now, only officials and authorised people were allowed to view the lift-off from the island. Dr K Sivan, chairperson, ISRO, said, "This is a mission of many firsts. This is the first time a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) will place objects in three different orbits. This is the first time the PSLV has been used in the four strap-on engine configurations. The industry also played a big role in the mission with 95 per cent of the hardware and 60 to 70 per cent of the satellite being fabricated from outside ISRO."
“Around 1,200 people watched the mission and for the next one, we will accommodate 5,000 people in the viewing gallery. It will later be expanded to seat 10,000. Those who missed out on the chance today will be able to enjoy our next launch,” he added.
The 47th flight was also the longest mission of the PSLV, lasting around three hours. Weighing 436 kg, the main payload was the India satellite EMISAT, which has been designed for electromagnetic-spectrum monitoring and will be used for intelligence gathering. The Indian satellite was put in a 749-km orbit in 17 minutes of the mission. The last stage of the launch vehicle was brought to a 485-km orbit at the three-hour mark. In this mission, the last stage of the rocket will be kept alive for several weeks before it becomes space debris, another first.
The PS4 was used as an orbital platform for the first time in January for the world’s smallest satellite, KalamSat that was developed by students. “This use of PS4 as an experiment platform will allow study of the ionosphere in the real-time and help scientists in developing better ionospheric models. This, in turn, will be helpful in improving the accuracy of satellite navigation signals,” said an ISRO official. This mission came six days after the Mission Shakti operation.
