The anti-satellite missile (A-SAT) test termed as “Mission Shakti” was conducted by scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha on Wednesday. An indigenously developed Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Interceptor Missile successfully engaged an Indian orbiting target satellite at an altitude of 300 km in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a “Hit to kill” mode.
The interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters. Tracking data from range sensors has confirmed that the mission met all its objectives. The entire mission lasted for about three minutes.
Explaining the significance of the test, sources said an A-SAT can neutralise enemy satellites in space by blinding them or disrupting its communication systems besides providing a technological base to intercept an incoming ballistic missile.
Satellites are used for navigation, communications and for guiding their missile weaponry. The ability to bring down an enemy’s missile, therefore, gives a country the capability to cripple critical infrastructure of the other country, rendering their weapons useless, they said.
While the US and Russia conducted these tests in the 1960s, China demonstrated its capability in 2007.
In his observation about the test, DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy said it is a reflection of the country’s growing capability to develop critical technology and it will act as a good deterrence adding clearance for the project was given over two years back.
Reddy said the technology used for the test was completely developed indigenously and the project was implemented in the fastest way possible
Soon after the Prime Minister’s address, the External Affairs Ministry brought out a list of frequently asked questions about the test and said this was a technological mission carried out by DRDO. It also said the highlight of the test is that India has tested and successfully demonstrated its capability to interdict and intercept a satellite in outer space.
On using the “kinetic kill” technology rather than “fly by tests” and jamming, the Ministry said this is a technology where we have developed capability. Space technologies are constantly evolving. We have used the technology that is appropriate to achieve the objectives set out in this mission.
As regards concerns about debris arising out of the test in space, it was clarified the test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris. Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back onto the earth within weeks, it added.
About questions raised on the timing of the test, the Ministry said it was done to verify that India has the capability to safeguard our space assets. Moreover, the test was conducted after the scientists had acquired the required degree of confidence to ensure its success, and reflects the intention of the Government to enhance India’s national security.
According to report put out by news agency Reuter, the United States performed the first anti-satellite tests in 1959, when satellites themselves were rare and new. Bold Orion, designed as a nuclear-tipped ballistic missile re-purposed to attack satellites, was launched from a bomber and passed close enough to the Explorer 6 satellite for it to have been destroyed if the missile had been armed. The
The Soviet Union performed similar tests around the same time. In the 1960s and early 1970s, it tested a weapon that could be launched in orbit, approach enemy satellites and destroy them with an explosive charge, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit research and advocacy organisation.
In 1985, the United States tested the AGM-135, launched from an F-15 fighter jet, destroying an American satellite called Solwind P78-1. There were no tests for more than 20 years. Then in 2007, China entered the anti-satellite arena by destroying an old weather satellite in a high, polar orbit. The test created the largest orbital debris cloud in history, with more than 3,000 objects, according to the Secure World Foundation, a group that advocates sustainable and peaceful uses of outer space. The next year, the United States carried out Operation Burnt Frost, using a ship-launched SM-3 missile to destroy a defunct spy satellite
Debris from anti-satellite tests can create problems for other satellites and spacecraft in orbit, as tiny bits of junk whiz through space many times faster than a rifle bullet. The International Space Station, for example, regularly tweaks its orbit to avoid debris of all kinds.
China’s 2007 test is considered the most destructive. Because the impact took place at an altitude of more than 800 km (500 miles), many of the resulting scraps stayed in orbit. The US test in 2008 did not create as much orbital debris, and because it was at a lower altitude, atmospheric drag caused much of it to fall toward Earth and burn up.
With the successful test on Wednesday, India theoretically holds other countries’ satellites at risk.