Anti-satellite (A-SAT) Missile

Explanation :

• A-SAT is essentially a missile that can destroy or jam an enemy country's satellite in space.It can also be used to access critical information about troop movements or incoming missiles.

Types

1. Kinetic A-SATs, like ballistic missiles, physically strike an object in order to destroy it.
2. Non-Kinetic A-SATsuse non-physical means to disable or destroy space objects, which include frequency jamming, blinding lasers or cyber-attacks.

• USA first tested the ASAT technology in 1958 which was followed by USSR in 1964.China joined the club in 2007.India is now the 4^th country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability.
• On March 27, 2019 India conducted Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite missile test, from the Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch complex.This was a technological mission carried out by DRDO. The satellite used in the mission was one of India’s existing satellites operating in lower orbit.
• India used Kinetic Kill, a space technology in which India has developed capability.
• The range of an ASAT is limited and depends on where it is launched from. Satellites above the range of 20,000 kilometres are out of range. The US and Russia have the capabilities of launching an ASAT from the ship, land and space, while India, presently, has used a land installation.