Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Weapons

Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Weapons Latest News

India is recognised as a key player in creating global norms for responsible space behaviour, said Marjolijn van Deelen, EU Special Envoy for Space. She highlighted India-EU collaboration at the Global Technology Summit

About Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Weapons

ASAT weaponsare specialised technologies designed todisable, destroy, or interfere with satellitesin orbit forstrategic or defensive purposes.

ASATs are akey component of space warfare capabilitiesand are used toneutralise enemy satellitesforsurveillance, communication, navigation, orearly warning systems.

ASAT weapons are broadly classified intotwo categories:

oKinetic Energy ASATs: These involvedirect physical impact, usually throughmissilesthat collide with satellites to destroy them. The impact generatesorbital debris, which can pose a long-term hazard to other space assets.

oNon-Kinetic ASATs: These usenon-physical meanssuch ascyber-attacks,jamming,spoofing, anddirected energy weaponslikelaserstodisrupt or blinda satellite without physically destroying it.

ASAT weapons can belaunched from ground stations,aircraft, or evenother satellites, making them versatile and difficult to detect in some cases.

As of now,four countries— theUnited States, Russia, China, and India— have demonstratedoperational ASAT capabilitiesthrough tests.

India’s ASAT Test (Mission Shakti)was conducted inMarch 2019, where alive satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)was destroyed by athree-stage interceptor missileat an altitude ofaround 300 kmin a"hit-to-kill" mode.

The global community, particularly theEuropean Union (EU), has expressed concern about thespace debris created by destructive ASAT testsand has called fora ban on such practicesunder theUnited Nations framework.

About Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO)

RPOrefers to theintentional manoeuvringof one spacecraftclose to anotherin space, either fordocking,inspection, orother mission objectives.

oRendezvous operationsinvolve two space objectsadjusting their orbital parameters,such astrajectory, plane, altitude, and phasing,to approach one another fordockingorberthing.

oProximity operationsinvolvemaintaining a spacecraft in the vicinityof another object on apre-planned relative pathwithout necessarily making contact.

While RPOs are commonly used forscientific,repair, orrefuelling missions, they can also beused for espionage, disruption, or disabling other satellites, especially if performedwithout prior notificationor byunfriendly actors.