Mission Shakti: Dedication of Hyderabad scientists helped pull off remarkable feat

The A-SAT interceptor missile hit its target at an altitude of 300 km in a span of 3 minutes.


G Satheesh Reddy, DRDO chief |Express

Hyderabad :

‘Mission Shakti’, as it is rightly being hailed, is a remarkable achievement for the country, and a matter of pride for Hyderabad, as the project was conceived in the city.

Speaking to TNIE, chairman, DRDO and secretary to the Department of Defence R&D G Satheesh Reddy said scientists of Research Centre Imarat (RCI), along with those from Defence Research Development Labs (DRDL) and Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) — three premier DRDO labs in city — had been working on the project for the last two years. “But in the last six months, our scientists have worked day and night to achieve this on a mission mode,” the distinguished scientist added.

The A-SAT interceptor missile hit its target at an altitude of 300 km in a span of 3 minutes. “With an extremely high degree of accuracy, it can hit targets in the low earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of up to 1,000 km,” Reddy pointed out.

On the obstacles faced, Reddy said, “It was a technological challenge because, primarily, the relative velocity between the missile and target satellite was 10 km per second. It is a hit-to-kill weapon and we have worked very hard to achieve an accuracy of centimetres.” Though the accuracy in centimetres is yet to be calculated, he said it could be around five-to-six cm.

The interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters. Tracking data from range sensors, according to DRDO has confirmed that the mission met all its objectives.“There are no warheads. Accuracy has to be very high. You need to develop a lot of mechanism like ‘divert thrusters’ which gives the manoeuvrability to the vehicle.

The algorithms have to be very precise and accurate for various environments. You need to hit with high accuracy. The BMD(ballistic missile defence) programme technology has been used,” said Reddy.


While India now has joined the elite club of USA, Russia and China, what is next for DRDO? “We have mastered the technology which can give an accuracy of centimetres. We have to plan (future course of action) and work it out,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Rahul V. Pisharody / by Express News Service / March 28th, 2019

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