Accurate sensors and on-board seekers guided the A-SAT missile to a direct hit on the target. India chose much lower orbit to avoid debris threat to global space assets says DRDO. A-SAT test demonstrates India's capabilities to carry out critical missions

India’s Mission Shakti was a six-month, 24x7 coordinated effort by scientists of Defence Laboratories that culminated in missile successfully destroying a satellite, said G Satheesh Reddy, DRDO Chairman and chief of the project.

The A-SAT (Anti-Satellite missile) test on March 27 demonstrated the capability of India’s technology to carry out a critical mission with a high degree of precision, he said at a meeting of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI).

Under the aegis of the AeSI, Hyderabad Chapter, defence scientists gathered to discuss developments related to A-SAT at the Missile Complex, which was the hub for the development and testing of the project.

‘Direct Hit’

While congratulating those associated with the project, Reddy said, “Critical systems, including software and sensors, were indigenously developed and a team of scientists from various specialisations worked in complete synergy to ensure that the most important challenge during the mission — all systems cohesively responding to the ever-changing dynamics — was met.”

U Rajababu, Program Director, ‘AD’ of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Shield program, said, “Accurate sensors and on-board seekers guided the A-SAT missile to the target to ensure a direct hit without employing any warhead.”

Precise Technology

Highlighting the objectives and critical aspects of Mission Shakti, he said, “Before engagement, the high altitude and velocity interception posed many technological challenges on early detection and trajectory correction systems for finer corrections.”

Rajababu said that when the relative velocity of the systems involved is around 10 km/sec, there is a crucial need for high levels of precision.

The booster needs to provide the requisite velocities, technologies such as dome opening and heat-shield need to be precise and smooth apart from a highly accurate and secure data communication system. All these were achieved with precision. Project Director, AD (Exo) and Secretary AeSI, Y Sreenivasa Rao, congratulated industry partners for their involvement and effort in realisation of the weapon system within a short time frame.

“Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex led the mission with support from ITR, Chandipur, and other multiple DRDO labs.”