Mains Marathon

• Introduce briefly about Anti-satellite weapons.
• Describe the strategic military significance of Anti-Satellite Weapons and possibilities of armed race.
• Give a fair conclusion.

Answer

Anti-Satellite System (A-SAT):

• India has tested the Anti-Satellite System(A-SAT) from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, an island off the coast of Odisha.
• It has been launched as an interceptor missile from the Balasore range in Odisha to hit a live satellite in Low Earth Orbit.
• It thus became the fourth country in the world to develop an ASAT capability. The test was named as Mission Shakti.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has -developed Anti-satellite (ASAT) indigenously.

Significance:

• A large number of crucial applications are now satellite-based. These include navigation systems, communication networks, broadcasting, banking systems, stock markets, weather forecasting, disaster management, land and ocean mapping and monitoring tools, and military applications.
• Destroying a satellite would render these applications useless. It can cripple enemy infrastructure, and without causing any threat to human lives.
• It was aimed at strengthening the capability to safeguard space assets and India’s overall security.

International Reactions on ASAT Test:

• China has said that it hopes that all countries would uphold peace and tranquility in outer-space.
• Pakistan has said that Space is the common heritage of mankind and every nation has the responsibility to avoid actions which can lead to the militarization of this arena.
• The US has said that it will continue to pursue shared interests in space and scientific and technical cooperation with India, including collaboration on safety and security in space. However, it expressed concern over the issue of space debris.
• India’s Stand:
  • The Ministry of External Affairs has stated that India is against the weaponization of Outer Space and supports international efforts to reinforce the safety and security of space based assets.
  • India has always maintained that space must be used only for peaceful purposes.

International treaties Regarding Outer Space:

• UN Outer Space Treaty 1967: It prohibits only weapons of mass destruction in outer space, not ordinary weapons. India ratified it in 1982.
• UN Transparency and Confidence Building Measures (TCBMs): It includes registering space objects with the UN register, pre-launch notifications etc. India is sharing these details with the UN.
• Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) is an international governmental forum for the worldwide coordination of activities related to the issues of man-made and natural debris in space.
  • India participates in IADC-activities with regard to space debris management, undertaking SOPA (Space Object Proximity Awareness and COLA (Collision Avoidance) Analysis.
• India has supported the UN resolution on No First Placement of Weapons on Outer Space.

ASAT Mission opens up new vistas for India for collaborative ventures in space with a number of other key space powers such as the US, Japan, and France, in area of New Space Dynamics. New Space Dynamics is an unfolding and complex phenomenon encompassing various trends, including technological, political, and commercial trends that together contribute to an increasingly more prominent role for private actors’ involvement in space. It will act as an enabler to expand the capacity and capability for the industry to offer end-to-end products and services. India’s demonstration of ASAT capability comes a little more than a decade after China’s, and nearly six decades after that of the U.S. and Russia. An ASAT test is, undoubtedly, less threatening than a nuclear explosion. India has, no doubt, sought to reassure the global community that it has not violated any international treaty or understanding with this test.