Microsat-R

Microsat-R

Preparations for the start of Microsat-R
Country:	India India
Operator:	Indian armed forces
COSPAR-ID :	2019-006A
Mission dates
Dimensions:	740 kg
Begin:	January 24, 2019, 18:07 UTC
Starting place:	Satish Dhawan Space Center
Launcher:	PSLV
Flight duration:	61.5 days (to hit)
Status:	Destroyed
Orbit data
Rotation time :	90 min
Orbit inclination :	96.6 °
Apogee height :	282 km
Perigee height :	260 km (data before the hit)

Microsat-R was an Indian satellite . It was launched in January 2019 by the Indian space agency on behalf of the Indian military . On March 27, 2019, it served as a target for an anti-satellite missile test and was successfully destroyed.

Development and start

Microsat-R was developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), a research network under the control of the Indian Ministry of Defense. The satellite weighed 740 kg and was declared an earth observation satellite .

On January 24, 2019 at 11:37 p.m. local time, a PSLV rocket lifted off the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Center . It brought Microsat-R into space together with the student-built Kalamsat-V2 nanosatellite . After 13 minutes, the main payload was placed in orbit at an altitude of 272 km, the PSLV's lowest target orbit to date. Kalamsat-V2 remained on the fourth stage, which detonated twice more to reach a 450 km high orbit. They should burn up in the earth's atmosphere within about half a year. In fact, after five months there were still about 120 bridges at least 10 centimeters in size in orbits of up to one kilometer in height.

It was the 46th PSLV launch and the first flight of the new PSLV-DL rocket version. For the first time, the fourth stage also serves as a platform for further experiments.

Launch

The Indian military used a PDV Mk II missile ( Prithvi Defense Vehicle Mark II ; for example: Earth Defense Equipment Version 2), which is based on the Agni-V ICBM . It weighs about 18 tons and consists of three stages , the first two of which use a solid fuel drive.

The interceptor rocket was launched on March 27, 2019 at around 11:10 a.m. local time from the Integrated Test Range missile test site on Abdul Kalam Island . After about three minutes, its third stage hit the satellite at an altitude of almost 300 km and at a relative speed of around 10 km / s. According to the DRDO, this operation, code-named "Mission Shakti", had been in preparation for two years. The satellite was hit in the middle and with a few centimeters of target deviation. On the same day, the US Air Force registered around 270 pieces of debris.

India became the fourth country after the USA , the Soviet Union and China to demonstrate the launch of a satellite with a rocket.

Reactions

Path development of the debris collected by April 20, 2019

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the success of the test in a televised address and said India was now a global space power. The newly developed ability is not directed against anyone, and India rejects an arms race in space. The Indian Congress President Rahul Gandhi accused him of "political theater". In general, the action was seen domestically in the context of an imminent parliamentary election.

The Times of India headlined “India shoots into the star wars club” and viewed the satellite launch as a show of force directed at both Pakistan and China. A spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said India's behavior was reminiscent of Don Quixote's fight against windmills.

Various experts estimate the risk of additional space debris to be relatively low due to the satellite's low orbit. Most of the debris will enter the earth's atmosphere within a few weeks. Individual parts have also been promoted to higher levels. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine expressed general concern about space debris from satellite launches and accused other, unspecified countries of relying on the United States for free monitoring of self-created debris fields by services. The US State Department avoided any criticism of India.

Web links

ISRO press material on the Microsat-R start (English, PDF)
Microsat-R in the NSSDCA Master Catalog (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d U. Tejonmayam: PSLV C44 launch: Isro's PSLV C-44 successfully places military satellite Microsat-R in orbit. In: Times of India . January 25, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .
^ ^A ^b ^c Jonathan McDowell : Jonathan's Space Report - Next Issue. March 2019, archived from the original on March 29, 2019 ; Retrieved March 29, 2019 (data verified March 27, 2019 on space-track.org as 260 × 282 km at 96.64 ° inclination and 89.93 days orbital time).
↑ ^a ^b PSLV-C44. ISRO , January 24, 2019, accessed on March 28, 2019 .
↑ Twitter message from Jonathan McDowell, August 25, 2019. This analysis is based on the publications of the Space Detection and Tracking System of the US military (www.space-track.org), which detects objects from about 10 cm in size.
↑ 'We Are Space Power Now': India Successfully Shoots Down Satellite In Low-Earth Orbit. In: South Front. March 28, 2019, accessed March 31, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rajat Pandit: India shoots into star wars club. In: Times of India. March 28, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .
↑ Anantha Krishnan: Explained Mission Shakti | What is A-SAT and how it hit Microsat-R in 168 secs. In: Manorama Online. March 28, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d Marcia Smith: India Conducts Antisatellite Test. In: Spacepolicyonline. March 27, 2019, accessed on March 28, 2019 .
↑ Manu Pubby: India tests first anti-satellite missile system, code named Mission Shakti. In: The Economic Times. March 28, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .
↑ Nicole Chavez, Sugam Pokharel: India conducts successful anti-satellite missile surgery, Prime Minister says. In: CNN.com. March 28, 2019, accessed March 29, 2019 .
↑ Stephen Clark: US military sensors track debris from Indian anti-satellite test. In: Spaceflight Now. March 27, 2019, accessed on March 28, 2019 .
↑ US adopts neutral stand on 'Mssion Shakti', to continue space collaboration with India. In: BusinessLine. March 28, 2019, accessed March 29, 2019 .

[toi-1] U. Tejonmayam: PSLV C44 launch: Isro's PSLV C-44 successfully places military satellite Microsat-R in orbit. In: Times of India . January 25, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .

[jsr-2] A ^b ^c Jonathan McDowell : Jonathan's Space Report - Next Issue. March 2019, archived from the original on March 29, 2019 ; Retrieved March 29, 2019 (data verified March 27, 2019 on space-track.org as 260 × 282 km at 96.64 ° inclination and 89.93 days orbital time).

[isro-3] PSLV-C44. ISRO , January 24, 2019, accessed on March 28, 2019 .

[4] Twitter message from Jonathan McDowell, August 25, 2019. This analysis is based on the publications of the Space Detection and Tracking System of the US military (www.space-track.org), which detects objects from about 10 cm in size.

[5] 'We Are Space Power Now': India Successfully Shoots Down Satellite In Low-Earth Orbit. In: South Front. March 28, 2019, accessed March 31, 2019 .

[toi2-6] Rajat Pandit: India shoots into star wars club. In: Times of India. March 28, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .

[manorama-7] Anantha Krishnan: Explained Mission Shakti | What is A-SAT and how it hit Microsat-R in 168 secs. In: Manorama Online. March 28, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .

[spo-8] A ^b ^c ^d Marcia Smith: India Conducts Antisatellite Test. In: Spacepolicyonline. March 27, 2019, accessed on March 28, 2019 .

[9] Manu Pubby: India tests first anti-satellite missile system, code named Mission Shakti. In: The Economic Times. March 28, 2019, accessed March 28, 2019 .

[10] Nicole Chavez, Sugam Pokharel: India conducts successful anti-satellite missile surgery, Prime Minister says. In: CNN.com. March 28, 2019, accessed March 29, 2019 .

[11] Stephen Clark: US military sensors track debris from Indian anti-satellite test. In: Spaceflight Now. March 27, 2019, accessed on March 28, 2019 .

[12] US adopts neutral stand on 'Mssion Shakti', to continue space collaboration with India. In: BusinessLine. March 28, 2019, accessed March 29, 2019 .