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ASAT’s full form implies anti-satellite weapons. Since the Cold war, there has been a rise in the use of space as a medium of war, resulting in a race among countries to build ASAT. In the case of a war, it allows a nation to attack and destroy enemy satellites in order to damage the opponent’s military operations. Despite the fact that no ASAT system has yet been used in battle, a few countries like the United States, Russia, and India have successfully shot down their own satellites in a display of strength to demonstrate their ASAT prowess.
Functions
ASAT functions as a key enabler for a counterforce against an enemy’s anti-ballistic missile defence (ABM), an unconventional counter to a high-tech adversary, a nuclear first strike, and a counter-value weapon. ASATs produce space junk, which can crash with other satellites, resulting in even more debris, as a result of which Earth may experience Kessler Syndrome.
History
The preliminary research began in the early 1950s and was followed by the launch of several on-ground projectiles into space for final testing. During times of instability and war, the United States was the first to think of it. The US ASM-135 ASAT missile was the first missile to be launched into space. That was the onset of similar projects, which prompted other war-torn countries to follow suit. With technological advancements, the system has been modified to match the greater potential to fulfil today’s requirements.
ASAT in the Missile Defence Era
The Strategic Defence Initiative (proposed in 1983) was largely focused on the development of systems to defend against nuclear warheads, although some of the technologies produced could be beneficial for anti-satellite applications as well. The ASAT missile test is both a technological showcase and a message of deterrence, which boosts a nation’s claim to be a participant in international space talks. Until China conducted a test in January 2007, ASAT had faded from the debates even in security circles.
The tests launched by the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s were disregarded as a remnant of Cold War power politics and have since been buried. The test performed without provocation by China, at an altitude of 850 kilometres above the earth’s surface destroyed one of its own ageing weather satellites, weighing 750 kg. This resulted in a substantial amount of space debris, which is there even today and poses a threat to all low-earth-orbiting satellites, including Chinese satellites. In comparison, India’s test was performed at a significantly lower altitude, at roughly 300 km, implying that a large amount of the debris would enter the earth’s atmosphere caused by the gravitational force and be incinerated due to the high temperatures there.
Drawbacks of ASATs
While it has been implied that blocking the satellites of another country in a conflict, such as between China and the United States, could seriously impede the latter’s military operations, the ease with which one can shoot down satellites in orbit and their effects on operations has been challenged.
Although satellites have been successfully detected at low orbital altitudes, protective tactics such as angle variations may make long-term surveillance of military satellites difficult. The interceptor would have to pre-determine the point of impact while adjusting for the satellite’s lateral movement and the time it takes for the warhead to climb and move, depending on the level of tracking capabilities.
The GPS and communications satellites orbit at higher altitudes than strong global ballistic missiles, at 20000 km and 36000 km individually. Liquid-powered space launch vehicles could go to those altitudes, but they may take longer to launch and can be targeted on the ground before being able to launch multiple times in a row.
Conclusion
Anti-satellite weapons are now being developed at a rapid and more worldwide pace. Not only does the rush for these weapons raise the possibility of world conflict, but it also puts all future space research in danger. ASATs, despite their preventive potential, are more likely to cause or intensify conflicts than to prevent them, especially considering the threat they pose to early warning satellites. In addition, unintended warfare, or strategic blunder, is more likely in space than anywhere else. It is considerably easier to deploy destructive ASATs to put an adversary’s space systems in peril than it is to protect a system that is expensive and, in some circumstances, not technologically possible due to satellite mobility restrictions.
