India becomes fourth country to successfully test anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that India has officially registered its name in the elite group by successfully conducting an anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile test on March 27. India is only the fourth country alongside the US, Russia, and China.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the efforts of the scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for successfully carrying out the operation called 'Mission Shakti.'

"Mission Shakti operation was a difficult target to achieve and was completed successfully within three minutes of launch. This was a test operation carried out by India and was not targeted against anyone," said Modi.
Although no A-SAT weapon has been deployed for the actual military until now, it seems to be a great achievement for the country to have a weapon of such potential in its arsenal. Other countries are yet to respond on India's A-SAT test, and PM Modi also clarified that the test didn't violate any international norms.

"This mission of India does not violate any international norms or laws of security. This weapon aims to embolden India's national security and is only a step in ensuring peace," said PM Narendra Modi.

India has been at the forefront of the space advancements with ISRO prepping up for several space missions for the future. Besides, NASA has also confirmed that India's Chandrayaan 2 will be carrying the space agency's laser retroreflector arrays. The announcement was made during the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held at Texas, US last week.

India's lunar mission Chandrayaan 2 will be taking off next month carrying NASA's laser instruments that will help scientists make precise measurements of the distance to the Moon, according to NASA officials.