India: India successfully carried out anti-satellite missile ASAT targeting a live satellite on low earth orbit. India has now become the fourth country after USA, Russia and China to possess such a technology. The mission named ‘Mission Shakti’ was completed in three minutes.
Indian scientists successfully brought down one of its own satellites in the low earth orbit of around 300 kms from the surface of the Earth.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon successfully targeted a live low earth orbit (LEO) satellite in space. The operation by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) destroyed the live satellite all in three minutes.
PM Modi said, “The mission was an important step towards securing India’s safety, economic growth and technological advancement. The capability was not against any country and India was against arms race in space.” During the tests, countries target their own satellites, those which are no longer in use but continue to be in the space.
The ability to bring down one’s own satellite means that countries also possess the technology to destroy enemy satellites as well to critically damage infrastructures like telecommunications which are crucial to a country at a time of war.
