A-SAT debris will decay within 45 days, says DRDO chief

New Delhi: DRDO chairman G. Satheesh Reddy said on Saturday that extensive simulations done before the anti-satellite test (A-SAT) had shown that there was no possibility of the debris of the destroyed satellite hitting the International Space Station (ISS).

He said that anti-satellite test (A-SAT) done by India on March 27 could not have been kept secret as many countries keep track of satellites.

“The mission of this nature, after the test is conducted, cant be kept secret technically ......

Because satellite is tracked by many stations across the world by manypeople,” said Mr Reddy.  He said that even US and China had to  come out about these tests.

India had shot down a live satellite on March 27 with an anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile developed by DRDO. India is fourth country after US, Russia and China, which have such capabilities.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing that India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability, saying only a “foolish government” would make such a disclosure and “betray” a defence secret.

Mr Reddy said that the while India has capability to bring down a satellite at an altitude of 1000 kilometres, the test was done below 300 kilometres to ensure safety of space assets and debris below this level decays fast.

Nasa had said that India’s anti-satellite missile test created at least 400 pieces of orbital debris placing the International Space Station (ISS) and its astronauts at risk. Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine  had said  that just 60 pieces of debris were large enough to track. Of those, 24 went above the apogee of the ISS, the point of the space station’s orbit farthest from the Earth.

DRDO chief said that International Space Station (ISS) was around 120 kilometres above from the point where the missile had hit the test  satellite.

Also laterally there was difference, as  the test was carried out at Bay of Bengal and ISS at that point was over French Guyana.

DRDO chief said that as per  simulations all the debris of the satellite will decay within 45 days.  He said that mission was designed in such a way that minimum debris go up.