Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced the anniversary of becoming the country’s space superpower in addressing the nation’s name. PM Modi said that ISRO has destroyed a live satellite located in Law Orbit, about 300 km away using the ASAT missile. The entire mission was completed in indigenous anti-satellite missile developed in India in just 3 minutes. DRDO Chairman G. Satish Reddy told that the satellite that was destroyed in this mission was India’s own satellite.
10 Big Things: In 1967 the Outer Space Treaty
- Anti Satellite Weapon is the weapon used in space. They are designed to destroy the enemy system of the enemy country. Any satellite can be destroyed in space by anti-satellite technology.
- During the war, destroying the enemy’s satellite can damage the spine of the country. The communication facility works in the country through satellite only. If it is destroyed, then all communication channels like radio, TV and mobile will stop working in the country.
- If the satellite is destroyed, then the country will not be able to monitor its military force through satellite, nor will it be able to get its geographical location and weather information.
- So far, anti-satellite systems in the world were tested only by three countries – America, Russia and China. However, no country has so far used this power during the war. All countries have targeted their own satellites to demonstrate their power.
- America began to develop anti-satellite missiles in the 1950s. Between May 26, 1958 and October 13, 1959, there were 12 tests to kill the satellite in space, but no success was found. Such efforts continued till the 70’s. The first breakthrough in this mission was on the United States on September 13, 1985, when the F-15 launched a missile from 11,613 miles and killed satellite P78-1 doing the orbit 555 km above the earth.
- Russia (the Soviet Union at the time) had also started working on anti-satellite mission since the 1950s. In the ’70s, he launched Anti-Satellite Missile Launch. But the first breakthrough was on November 1, 1968, when he destroyed a satellite in his orbit with his missile.
- In 1967 an international treaty was signed on ‘Outer Space Treaty’. In which it was decided that the space will not be made a battlefield. Space is for everyone, and it will be used only in the interest of humankind. By February 2019, 108 countries of the world have become part of this treaty.
- China achieved success in the Anti-Satellite Mission in 2007. On January 11, 2017, at the height of 865 km in space, one of its Feng Shan series ‘FY-1C Polar’ was destroyed by the missile.
- In the beginning India was against the trial of such weapons in space. But after China, India also started working on this project keeping in mind future security. India has successfully tested anti-satellite technology by destroying the satellite located in the law orbit from the indigenous Missile Asset on March 27, 2019.
- India targets an Indian micro satellite for this test. The satellite was launched on January 24 and had stopped working at this time. The PM said that in some way the Outer Space Treaty was not violated in the trial.
