Nagpur: Facts regarding India’s anti-satellite ‘Mission Shakti’ were unfolded by project coordinator at the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), U Rajababu, at a program organized by Vidarbha Pradesh Mandal of Vigyan Bharti recently.

The programme was staged on the premises of the Blind Relief Association, South Ambazari Road.

The anti-satellite missile or a kinetic kill vehicle was launched as part of the test on March 27, 2019, from Abdul Kalam island. The aim of the test was to hit-and-kill a satellite in the Earth orbit. The mission was successfully accomplished and it made India the fourth country to have tested an ASAT weapon after the US, Russia and China.

On the accuracy of launching the weapon, Rajababu explained how important it is to be sure regarding the time, location and other aspects. He added that as time zones differ in various regions, the team launching India’s anti-satellite (ASAT) ensured that no errors were committed.

He highlighted the challenges faced by his team while preparing for the mission. The biggest challenge Rajababu faced was to give instructions to employees as they were unaware of the actual plan. The secrecy of the mission had to be maintained for many reasons. Only a handful of people knew the actual motive.

Rajababu’s address included diagrams and pictures which gave a better insight regarding the concepts proposed by him.

Highlighting the achievements, Rajababu said that the mission was carefully designed. This indicated active participation from Indian industry in concurrent mode. He added that the hit-to-kill accomplished against the live satellite with an accuracy of less than 10cm is by far the best reported performance worldwide.

Rajababu’s presentation was followed by a short interactive session with the audience.