Technology

MISSION Shakti Makes Indians Proud

OVER 1,300 million Indians are justified of being proud of their motherland post their dedicated scientists have   made the nation a super-power” by making it the fourth country to acquire anti-satellite capability. Wednesday, March 27,2019,  was indeed  a historic day  for  achieving  the  mission  being conducted  by the DRDO over two  years  in secrecy  after it was approved by the  incumbent PM when it hit the target a live satellite in space 300 km away in low earth orbit. The pre-fixed target was destroyed by the A-SAT in just three minutes as claimed by the DRDO. With this, India has established itself as a space superpower among its immediate neighbour China, The Soviet Union and the United States of America.”Mission Shakti was a difficult operation but a huge success” as the Prime Minister tweeted. The operation involved a complicated space manoeuvre and has not violated any international law. The latest technology acquired by India is not against anyone. It is only for the progress of India, for the safety and security giving the nation has two hostile neighbours who claim substantial Indian territories citing varied reasons. Is it not jingoism on their part for trying to redraw India’s topography by hook or crook in violation of international law and conventions? Ironically, our western and north-eastern neighbours are hobnobbing in the belief as they say in diplomatic parlance your enemy is my friend  oblivious  of the  historical  fact that  religion  cannot be the sole criteria  for  formation of a nation. Giving the geo-political scenario , The  Anti-satellite Missile  officially termed as Mission Shakti  conducted successfully  from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island  on the  Bay of  Bengal in  Odisha,  will go a long way in strengthening  national  territorial  integrity  by  intercepting  suspected  satellite intended to destroy  vital installations ,especially in  India’  border regions .Despite  changes  of the federal  governments over the  years, India’s  policy as formulated by  its  first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ,who belatedly  understood the  significance of  strengthening  defence apparatus , remains  not to provoke  any nation. Its main objective is maintenance of peace and national unity and not grab to any other country’s territory and is opposed to making a war-like situation to browbeat any nation. Laypersons should know that hitting a satellite with a missile is harder than shooting a bullet with a bullet. A satellite orbiting 300 km above the earth travels at 30,000 km per hour whereas an ASAT missile travels at 24,000 km per hour .ASAT technology requires incredible precision. A phenomenal achievement! What is also praiseworthy that the entire technology has been indigenously developed and the mission conducted by Indian space scientists. It is Indeed  silly  to claim that the  mission  was initiated  by the previous regime which  is  committed to  vote out  the current  dispensation headed by  Narendra Damodardas  Modi. Then MOS for Science and Technology in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan has gone on record saying that the need for it was not felt. Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair has asserted that India had the anti-satellite missile capability more than a decade ago but there was no political will at the time to develop it . As he said when China shot down an ageing weather satellite by launching a missile in 2007, India had the technology to undertake a similar mission. Modi should be  praised whole heartedly  for giving  go ahead signal  to the space  agency for undertaking  The Mission Shakti two  years  ago about which no ace detective  comparable to Sharlock Homes  had inkling  until  the PM revealed   on  public broadcaster. For coinciding the success of the mission with the ongoing Parliamentary poll should not be questioned as across the world R & D in science & technology is a continuous process. It must not be interrupted.(courtesy:musingsofaseniorjournalist.wordpress.com)   

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