Indian ASAT Test

[bharotshontan]

With Fire From Missile & Space Program, India Tests Anti-Satellite Weapon
https://www.livefistdefence.com/2019/03 ... eapon.html

Dr Saraswat said, “When we carried out the Agni-V development and capability demonstration, it was political decision. The government of the day (the Congress-led UPA) gave us clearance to proceed. In the case of the A-SAT, clearance was once again needed for such an exercise. I remember making presentations to ministers (AK Antony was defence minister) at the time and the National Security Advisor (Shivshankar Menon) saying please give us clearance and finances for this, it will be a great deterrent and strategic capability. Unfortunately, the clearance we sought wasn’t forthcoming. When we did the nuclear tests in 1998, it was the political will of Prime Minister Vajpayee. Similarly, with Agni-V, it was the political will of PM Manmohan Singh. But for reasons not shared with us, we didn’t get clearance for A-SAT. Prime Minister Modi and NSA Ajit Doval had a real appreciation of the need for such a capability, and our scientists had the ability to demonstrate it.”

Why/how is Dr Saraswat allowed to even speak to the media regarding nature of his meetings with Dr Singh, Menon and Antony on this topic?

[Karan M]

Why not? Hardly giving anything classified.

[anishns]

^^^

And why the hell not?
It’s quite clear that the previous regime was hellbent on compromising national security for their own nefarious purposes...this is just giving more credence!

[UlanBatori]

He gave nothing away because there was nothing to give away: apparently the MMS guvrmand just sat on their thumbs in the second half of their reign.

OTOH, I think this is a very interesting development considering past dhoti-shivering about US-India Civilian Space Strategic Partnership and the Civilian Nuclear Strategic Partnership. In this case very clearly, the Space establishment has worked very closely with the missile establishment, so that India now has a formal capability in Military Space. That is the Gang of Three that India has expanded to 4.

Knocking down Low Earth Orbit satellites is not particularly difficult because their orbit trajectory is known very precisely, and intercept is basically something that gets in the way of the satellite. At 7.5kilometers per second, any stationary or slow-moving object becomes deadly. So the interceptor can be basically a Sounding Rocket, with less than 10% of the energy needed for orbit. In fact knocking down satellites is a quintessentially paki kind of thing. Not to take anything away from the achievement; from the sound of it, the ASAT is heading to become a weapon to knock down missiles in mid-course, which is much harder (just one shot at it, need to time it and reach the right place, far ahead of the re-entry point). That is what India needs desperately right now, with Pakis rapidly approaching 400% insanity.

[Kritavarman]

Interesting response from USA, when opposition was predicting international backlash

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1111083725511634944
"US State Dept on #MissionShakti: Saw PM Modi's statement announcing India's anti-satellite test. As part of our strong strategic partnership with India,we'll continue to pursue shared interests in space&scientific&technical cooperation including collaboration on security in space"

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1111083756104880128
US State Department on "Mission Shakti": The issue of space debris is an important concern for the United States government. We took note of Indian government statements that the test was designed to address space debris issues.

[Sid]

Interesting response from USA, when opposition was predicting international backlash

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1111083725511634944
"US State Dept on #MissionShakti: Saw PM Modi's statement announcing India's anti-satellite test. As part of our strong strategic partnership with India,we'll continue to pursue shared interests in space&scientific&technical cooperation including collaboration on security in space"

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1111083756104880128
US State Department on "Mission Shakti": The issue of space debris is an important concern for the United States government. We took note of Indian government statements that the test was designed to address space debris issues.

"Acting U.S Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned any nations that might be considering anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests like the one India carried out on Wednesday to "not make a mess" in space, noting the debris that can be left behind."

key point, indicator of some tit-for-tat test from somewhere in neighbor.

[ldev]

Some more useful information from TOI

Interception occurred 3 minutes after launch
Relative velocity between the two vehicles was 10 km/sec
The interceptor weighed 18 tons
The capability exists to intercept upto 1000 km altitude

[Sumeet]

On times now (Athar Khan's) show Dr Saraswat mentioned two more technologies were needed to:

Kill Vehcile
IIR Seeker

So its a confirmation IIR seeker is used in the missile.

[disha]

"Acting U.S Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned any nations that might be considering anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests like the one India carried out on Wednesday to "not make a mess" in space, noting the debris that can be left behind."

key point, indicator of some tit-for-tat test from somewhere in neighbor.

1. US is supporting India's ASAT test. A huge change from the reaction of US in 1998.

2. Warning to a neighbour of India in North-East to not act like a Baki and spread raita (yogurt) in space.

BTW, Cheen is very very irresponsible when it comes to space. They litter it. And they do not care about other person's safety. Rumor has it that they tested an Orbital HTK on ISS. When they timed release of a micro-satellite such a way that it missed ISS by few kilometers.

One is not a space power if it acts irresponsibly with its space technologies.

[disha]

Some more useful information from TOI

Interception occurred 3 minutes after launch
Relative velocity between the two vehicles was 10 km/sec
The interceptor weighed 18 tons
The capability exists to intercept upto 1000 km altitude

"CEP" was few centimeters. It was a literal bang on target. I still do not think it was MicroSat-R.

[ldev]

U.S. studying India anti-satellite weapons test, warns of space debris

The U.S. military’s Strategic Command was tracking more than 250 pieces of debris from India’s missile test and would issue “close-approach notifications as required until the debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said.

The New Delhi government and Washington, which have generally close relations, have been in talks regarding the event, and India publicly issued an aircraft safety advisory before the launch, Eastburn added.

Lieutenant General David Thompson, vice commander of U.S. Air Force Space Command, added the International Space Station was not at risk at this point.

[disha]

Why/how is Dr Saraswat allowed to even speak to the media regarding nature of his meetings with Dr Singh, Menon and Antony on this topic?

We can show photos of our ASAT missiles (and ABM AAD/PAD) and also allow free access to our scientists. Unlike a neighbour in our NE where everything is shrouded in secrecy. And their scientists are in burkha. To me that shows the confidence and maturity in our missile/space technologies. I do have questions, are the missiles of NE neighbour even working?

[tsarkar]

Moi interested in the radar that was used for this mission.

Evolved Swordfish

BTW, something clearly happened between Balakot & now, for India to signal this capability. Definitely some PRC tricks indicating they would target our defence sats.

Pakistan asked China to disable Indian Cartosats & Risats orbiting it that took Balakot imagery pre and post strike. Pakistan gave the Lahori Logic of India targeting CPEC in the event of war. This message was that Chinese space assets would be targeted if Indian space assets are threatened in any manner.

[Mollick.R]

Is it going to be 1974 all over again ?
...............Nazi Germany or fascist Italy or Stalinist Russia. When "freedom of speech" is considered some sort of burdensome evil, then everyone beware.

finished writing a point wise rebuttal, then i deleted it. Makes no sense for me & for this discussion thread too.

So please do your verbal diarrhea somewhere else and spare this thread.

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
― Soren Kierkegaard

[Kashi]

Pakistan asked China to disable Indian Cartosats & Risats orbiting it that took Balakot imagery pre and post strike.

Can Cheen actually do that?

[vimal]

Any monkey trying to claim credit for UPA/Congis send them this link.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/e ... 2019-03-27

Ex-DRDO chief VK Saraswat blames UPA for delaying A-SAT programme

As India today entered the elite space power club with the successful targeting of a live satellite with an anti-satellite weapon (A-SAT), ex-DRDO chief VK Saraswat, who was one of the key engineers of this project, spoke to India Today and explained why Mission Shakti is scientifically and technologically such a big accomplishment for the nation. He also opened up about how the project didnt get the go-ahead from the UPA govt in 2012.

[sivab]

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/ge ... 328092125/

A-SAT not a derivative of Prithvi missile, has a range of upto 1000 km-plus, says DRDO Chairman

[Manish_P]

Burnol

Admiral Sir, reports are that the aircraft experienced some severe turbulence enroute

Since this is a family-friendly forum, i am not posting the picture directly.. but below is the link. Please do see it with requisite care.

Chaos45 encountering serious turbulence en route to station

[syam]

From reaching the heavens to securing our own heavens, we have come a long way. Gone are the days where we used to pray to Indra, now we are securing his own skies. Take that, my wise ancestors.

For an arrogant bhakth like me, this test means many things,
* we neutered paki threat completely now. We formally destroyed the equal-equal thing.
* we are shifting to eastern front at last. Western front is no more top priority.

It's such a proud moment for our desi science community. For us too. I have more praises. Just don't want to jinx it. We still have pretty long journey ahead of us.

[syam]

found this article on internet which is ok.
India shows it can destroy satellites in space, worrying experts about space debris
The good news: the pieces won’t be up there for long

India claims it has demonstrated the capability of destroying satellites in orbit by shooting one of its own satellites with a missile launched from Earth, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced this morning. The test seemingly proves that India has mastered what is known as anti-satellite, or ASAT, technology. But experts argue that such actions are concerning, as they can create hundreds to thousands of pieces of debris in space.

India acknowledged back in 2012 that it had the “building blocks” for ASAT technology, and it has since tested ballistic missiles that have that capability. However, this most recent test is the first time that India actually intercepted a satellite with one of its missiles. “India has today established itself as a global space power,” Modi said during an address about the test. “So far only three countries in the world — USA, Russia, and China — had this capability.”
"“India has today established itself as a global space power.”"

The test, called Mission Shakti, destroyed one of India’s own satellites that was in low Earth orbit around 186 miles (300 kilometers) up, according to Modi. It took just three minutes for the missile to reach its target. Modi did not name the satellite, but Indian media and amateur satellite trackers believe that the destroyed probe was Microsat-R. Weighing 1,630 pounds (740 kilograms), Microsat-R was a medium-sized military imaging satellite that was launched in January by the Indian Space Research Organization.

I agree with @DutchSpace: the most likely target of India's #ASAT test was Microsat-r (2019-006A). My analysis shows the test must have happened near 5:40 UT when the sat was moving northwards towards Abdul Kalam:@SSC_NL @nktpnd @planet4589 pic.twitter.com/HPUbQ6yTaU
— Dr Marco Langbroek (@Marco_Langbroek) March 27, 2019

For now, it’s unclear the exact effect this ASAT test had on the space environment. The Air Force’s main satellite tracking system, the US Space Surveillance Network, should get a better understanding of just how many pieces were created over the next few hours and days. Destroying satellites with missiles like this can potentially create between hundreds to thousands of pieces of debris that remain in space for many years. This happened in 2007 when China destroyed its own weather satellite during an ASAT test. Amateur satellite trackers estimate that the test created more than 3,000 objects, many of which have remained in orbit for years since the incident.
"“In the course of weeks and months, that stream will get broader and wider and more diffused.”"

Pieces created from an ASAT test can stretch out in a stream over long distances, covering many miles in space along the satellite’s original orbit, even spreading to slightly higher and lower altitudes. “In the course of weeks and months, that stream will get broader and wider and more diffused,” Marco Langbroek, a satellite tracker and space situational awareness consultant for the Space Security Center of the Royal Dutch Air Force, tells The Verge.
The Indian PSLV rocket that launched Microsat-R in January.

Such debris is a real concern for satellite operators. Objects in orbit are moving up 17,000 miles per hour in space. If one of these pieces hits another satellite, it can cause damage that might make a satellite inoperable. And some of these pieces are potentially quite small, making them hard to track. “Coming from the commercial community, we should be really concerned about activities like this,” Charity Weeden, president and co-founder of space consulting firm Lquinox, tells The Verge. “The space environment is not just for the military. And it’s not just for testing of anti-satellite capabilities.”

The good news about this test is that Microsat-R was in a relatively low orbit, so most of the pieces created from this event will probably fall to Earth within the next couple of weeks and months. And since the satellite is not incredibly large for a spacecraft, “it’s not something that will create a lot of debris that will be up there for many years to come like the Chinese anti-satellite test,” says Langbroek. The Chinese target was located at more than 500 miles (804 kilometers) high. Still, the pieces may pose a safety threat to launches traveling near the destroyed satellite’s orbit in the months ahead.
"“It’s not something that will create a lot of debris that will be up there for many years to come.”"

In fact, the Indian ASAT test more closely parallels an ASAT test the United States conducted in 2008 known as Operation Burnt Frost. In February of that year, the military launched a missile at a failed satellite from the National Reconnaissance Office called USA 193 since its decay was orbiting rapidly. Part of the justification for the test was that the satellite contained toxic hydrazine fuel that could pose a threat if it landed near someone on the ground. The missile destroyed USA 193 when it was about 150 miles (240 kilometers) above the Earth, creating a cloud of debris that fell to Earth less than a year later. However, some of the debris from that test was blasted to a much higher orbit.

Conducting a successful ASAT test is, foremost, a political show of strength. Not only does it prove a country’s capability to shoot down potentially hostile satellites, but similar technology could — in theory — be used to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles that pose a threat to a nation. India says that it did not break any international laws by conducting this test. The primary international treaty governing how nations should behave in space is the Outer Space Treaty, which entered into force in 1967. That treaty bans the use of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but it does not explicitly ban the use of missile technologies used for ASAT.

However, those involved in the commercial space industry said that any test like this should be condemned, even if the fallout will be minimal, as it signals to other countries that tests like this are a good idea. “What I’m concerned about is the normalization,” says Weeden. “Well the Chinese did it; well the Russians did it; now the Indians did it. Who’s next?”

Someone in the comment section said this, don't know how scientific it is,

However, some of the debris from that test was blasted to a much higher orbit.

Incorrect. That debris was blasted into a more elliptical orbit with a higher apogee, but exactly the same low perigee as the altitude of the blast. To reach a "higher orbit" requires a second application of delta-v at apogee, which didn’t happen.

The debris continued to return to the low orbital altitude every 90 minutes. Air drag was less on average, but hit max each perigee. Therefore it all fell quickly to Earth anyway.

[Singha]

Yusuf Unjhawala lays a superb IED

https://twitter.com/YusufDFI/status/1110950452558913537

[Prasad]

Its pertinent to note that our last PDV test was in early 2017. Sateesh Reddy said in an interview yesterday that they got the goahead for this test 2 years ago. 1+1 = 2.

[arun]

Btw, the timing is exquisite.

Because there is a closed door Conference on Disarmament happening in Geneva right now , discussing a treaty to ban ASAT weapons called PAROS - Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space (this treaty was mentioned in the MEA FAQ as being discussed since 1982)
https://futurism.com/25-governments-pre ... -arms-race

Representatives from 25 countries around the world are currently meeting in Geneva, Switzerland to formulate international laws to prevent space-based conflict.

But the meetings, which will continue through March 28, hit a roadblock when the U.S. representative accused China and Russia of undermining the entire process by developing anti-satellite weaponry, according to France 24 — a bad omen for the militarization of space.

http://en.rfi.fr/economy/20190325-space ... is-says-eu

The so-called Big Three appear to want to “weaponise” space on their own terms and, with huge strides in technology made since the Outer Space Treaty (OST) was signed in 1967, the final frontier is up for grabs.

Well, they need to make it Big Four now. We just barged into a few meetings over there which didn't previously include us.

We just have a middle ungli to the entire world.

Yes the Mission Shakthi A-SAT test has lots to do with PAROS.

India was excluded from the Group of Government Experts (GGE) on Transparency and Confidence Building Measures In Outer Space Activities:

……….. Though India has a long-standing and rapidly growing space programme, the United Nations in 2011 kept it out of the GGE it constituted on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities. New Delhi had lodged a strong protest not only at the CD, but also at the UNGA. …………

Read more at: Delhi seeks key role to draft global laws

The above puts the MEA FAQ statement of “India expects to play a role in the future in the drafting of international law on prevention of an arms race in outer space including inter alia on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space in its capacity as a major space faring nation with proven space technology”, in context (Frequently Asked Questions on Mission Shakti, India’s Anti-Satellite Missile test conducted on 27 March, 2019)

The bit on testing “Kinetic Kill” is significant in terms of the Outer Space Treaty which seeks “to preserve space for peaceful uses by committing States Parties to refrain from placing objects carrying any type of weapon into orbit”. Destruction by collision uses no weapon.

India must make it crystal clear that she will not be party to any outer space treaty that does not give her top table privilege’s equal to PRC, US, France, UK and Russia. None of this GGE exclusion business.

[syam]

Lol. . . this brian weeden guy is everywhere.

[Krita]

Btw, the timing is exquisite.

France, USA and Russia are established players in the launch and satellite business. UK's inclusion into the group is laughable, chotthu will serve chai-biscuit in the meetings.

[Dumal]

India was excluded from the Group of Government Experts (GGE) on Transparency and Confidence Building Measures In Outer Space Activities:

Read more at: Delhi seeks key role to draft global laws

Do we know why India was excluded? Odd when dozens of others were in, not just the big three.

[Singha]

india may have been excluded in 2011 but imo it seems we are in this fabled GGE (15 not 25 members) since 2017 and ie in geneva 2019 ongoing
25 nations were indeed invited, maybe 10 did not send anyone.

pic of GGE panel https://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazona ... nument.jpg

https://www.un.org/disarmament/topics/o ... paros-gge/

here the chairmans report confirms that india (and tsp!) are part of the GGE
https://s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/wp-c ... -01-31.pdf

there are 3 south-asian looking people in that group pic.

its very hard to find any info on who exactly are these GGE persons. even the above took effort.

[tsarkar]

Can Cheen actually do that?

The Chinese are suspected of creating a debris field near RISAT-1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RISAT-1

On 30 September 2016, Joint Space Operations Center identified a debris generating event near RISAT-1.[14][15] The event created 16 pieces out of which 15 decayed and one was catalogued on 6 October 2016 under NORAD ID: 41797 and COSPAR ID: 2012-017C and decayed on 12 October 2016. Cause of this event remains unknown. A month later on 3 November 2016, RISAT-1 data was declared unavailable on ESA's Copernicus Space Component Data Access portal due satellite outage. Satellite was experiencing anomalies but ISRO denied they were related to fragmentation event.

On 26 July 2017, Department of Space released names of its operational satellites in a reply to a Parliamentary query and RISAT-1 was not included in the list. Later in Annual Report 2017-18 of Department of Space, RISAT-1 was declared non-operational.

Also when China blew up its weather satellite, intent was to also create a debris field to deter others from positioning satellites in that point of space.

[arun]

india may have been excluded in 2011 but imo it seems we are in this fabled GGE (15 not 25 members) since 2017 and ie in geneva 2019 ongoing
25 nations were indeed invited, maybe 10 did not send anyone.

pic of GGE panel https://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazona ... nument.jpg

https://www.un.org/disarmament/topics/o ... paros-gge/

here the chairmans report confirms that india (and tsp!) are part of the GGE
https://s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/wp-c ... -01-31.pdf

there are 3 south-asian looking people in that group pic.

its very hard to find any info on who exactly are these GGE persons. even the above took effort.

There appears to be different GGE’s looking at different aspects of outer space. The one you have put up appears to the PAROS GGE. The Deccan Herald Articles OTOH talks about The Group Of Governmental Experts (GGE) Report On Transparency And Confidence Building Measures In Outer Space Activities.

See picture, particularly the text bar at the bottom of the picture. No India. SDRE looking person is from Sri Lanka. Meanwhile the usual suspects PRC, US, France, UK and Russia have inveigled themselves on this GGE as well:

THE GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS (GGE) REPORT ON TRANSPARENCY AND CONFIDENCE BUILDING MEASURES IN OUTER SPACE ACTIVITIES

[arun]

India was excluded from the Group of Government Experts (GGE) on Transparency and Confidence Building Measures In Outer Space Activities:

Read more at: Delhi seeks key role to draft global laws

Do we know why India was excluded? Odd when dozens of others were in, not just the big three.

To keep India out using pretext of accommodating Sri Lanka in the name of geographic dispersion of members, is my guess.

[jaysimha]

PIB release for records.
------------------------------------
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully launched the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Interceptor missile, in an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) missile test ‘Mission Shakti’ engaging an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a ‘Hit to Kill’ mode from the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island, in Odisha on March 27, 2019.
CNR :126330 Photo ID :139906

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/photoright.aspx?phid=139906

[Singha]

I had a kaleen bhaiya type moment reading tsarkar post::

so thats why this ASAT test was fast tracked from 2016 onward. thanks tsarkar I believe you have the root cause.
cheen fired a missile and exploded it near the risat1 causing 16 large debris and probably 1000s of particles some of which damaged the risat-1 and killed it.

now we can play the same game too....the MEO orbits of beidou2 known as "compass" has some 20+ juicy satellites to bite at. touch one of ours and we will break one of yours. it explains the "defending space assets" part of namo speech...you can only defend a satellite by taking out a enemy satellite as deterrence. sats themselves have no self projection sensor & fuel to detect missiles and take "evasive action" at such huge speeds......its a non-starter.

Raj47 had also hinted at the same thing.

its time for 1 cheeni risat1 type bird to die. ting tong, times up. only china and pakistan have access to the military accuracy channel. the weapon used yesterday can strike at 1000km orbit per TOI today as befits its large size. should be enough to take down 1 beidou with a unannounced launch in parallel to a regular agni test to send a message.

[Dilbu]

One noob pooch here. Wiki says china conducted ASAT test in 2007. Risat1 was launched in 2012. So how could they have targeted Risat1 with chinese ASat test? I must be missing something here.

[chola]

^^^ Regardless, they have far more target for us than ours for them. lol

This would be a fun race going forward. We need a nice rivalry like this. Competing with Pakis drags us back to the Dark Ages. Running with Cheen is space and beyond.

[Singha]

^^ not with the official asat test. but with a unannounced launch under cover of some other notam in north tibet. they continue to conduct ABM tests regularly, so quite easy to misuse one such for a asat mission.
remember they launch a lot more than we do, and from 4 locations. beidou2 alone has 35 sats and a wider area than our IRNSS.

they were quite busy in 2016 and 2017 with DN3 asat rocket https://glblgeopolitics.wordpress.com/2 ... sile-test/

it could also have been a small satellite programmed to creep up close to target sat and blast itself...thats easier to mask the mission with .... goes against weapons in space verbal agreement, but we know its not worth the toilet paper unless someone inflicts pain in exchange.

atleast 1 plump chinese satellite must die in near future after a "debris generating event" duly noted by NORAD.

[syam]

Not all asat launches are made public. Ok, small ct. What if this risat1 incident was prelude to doklam stand-off? We never bothered with chinis before despite their repeated aggressions.

[Singha]

even in 2006 they were sniping at a NRO sat and letting people know they had some capability
https://spacenews.com/nro-confirms-chin ... pacecraft/

[habal]

One noob pooch here. Wiki says china conducted ASAT test in 2007. Risat1 was launched in 2012. So how could they have targeted Risat1 with chinese ASat test? I must be missing something here.

they can launch a missile unannounced as well. My opinion is risat-1 was targeted around the doklam incident.

[Singha]

30 sept 2016 - risat1 hit
16 june 2017 - cheen made their doklam move
18 june 2017 - india crossed the border and made our move

but bear in mind cheen has been indulging in various border incursions too many to name.... one will have to check back if any major incident occurred around 30 sept 2016

[Dumal]

30 sept 2016 - risat1 hit
16 june 2018 - cheen made their doklam move
18 june 2018 - india crossed the border and made our move

Perhaps you meant to write 2017 for doklam?