India became the fourth country to successfully use an anti-satellite weapon after it shot down one of its low earth orbit satellites Wednesday – an act Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as the country’s first demonstration of its “space power.”
Modi, in an unexpected announcement just weeks before a general election, said scientists shot the live satellite located more than 185 miles away.
“India has made an unprecedented achievement today,” he said, speaking in Hindi. “India registered its name as a space power.”
An important message to the nation. Watch. https://t.co/0LEOATgOOQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 27, 2019
Indian has had a space program for years, making earth imagine satellites and launch capabilities as a cheaper alternative to Western programs.
With its launch on Wednesday, it became only the fourth country to have used such an anti-satellite weapon after the United States, Russia, and China, Modi added.
In the journey of every nation there are moments that bring utmost pride and have a historic impact on generations to come.
One such moment is today.
India has successfully tested the Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile. Congratulations to everyone on the success of #MissionShakti.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 27, 2019
The Indian foreign ministry said the test lasted 3 minutes and was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure there was no debris in space and that whatever was left would “decay and fall back into Earth within weeks.”
“The capability achieved through the anti-satellite missile test provides credible deterrence against threats to our growing space-based assets from long-range missiles, and proliferation in the types and numbers of missiles,” the foreign ministry said in the statement.
