By Prashant Dikshit,
With the putting of the NASA’s cars “Perseverance – The Rover and Ingenuity – The robotic rotorcraft on the surface of Mars on 18th of February , the world space scene has come into a much sharper focus . We had already noticed that several space faring countries around the world and even those who are seemingly acquiring visions of being one in future were following the example of the United States and creating their own “Space Forces.”
In December 2019, the US Space Force came into becoming with the avowed intent to shield the nation’s satellites and other space assets, thought of important to shield their national safety. Since then France, Canada and Japan followed suit despite the fact that Russia and China currently have quite a few organizations with non-descript nomenclatures which execute this part. India nevertheless, took smaller actions and set up a Defence Space Agency in the very same year.
On the other hand when Indian Space Research Organisation’s “Mars-craft”, the Mangalyaan entered into the orbit of the planet Mars on 24 September 2014, throughout India’s deep space Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India emerged as the very first nation in the globe to effectively send a spacecraft to that planet on its extremely very first try. The ISRO as a result, became the fourth space agency to attain Mars, following the Soviet space system, the American NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The selection to strategy the MOM lift off on 5 November 2013 was essential for the reason that it was going to use the significantly less effective PSLV rocket C25. In the original scheme ISRO had planned to launch the MOM on its new Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), but the GSLV has failed twice in two space missions in 2010 and the planners had been uncertain about its cryogenic engine, and they did not want to wait for the new batch of rockets considering the fact that that would have delayed the MOM project for at least 3 years. Launch possibilities for a fuel-saving transfer orbit take place about every single 26 months and in this case they would have come up only in 2016 and in 2018. The selection thus, was amongst delaying the MOM and switching to the significantly less-effective PSLV. They had opted for the latter with complete awareness that it would have been not possible to launch on a direct trajectory to Mars with the PSLV as it did not have the requisite energy. Instead, ISRO launched it into an Earth orbit very first and then gradually boosted it into an interplanetary trajectory employing numerous perigee burns to maximize the Oberth impact. In the parlance of astronautics, the Oberth impact is explained by the scientific logic that the use of a rocket engine when travelling at higher speed generates more helpful power than one at low speed. This scientific tactic, calling for terrific precision, one would think was the hallmark of this scientific achievement.
In the shadow of the Martian endeavour let us not neglect to recall India’s very first lunar probe on the Moon Vehicle, the Chandrayaan-1 launched by the ISRO in October 2008, and which was operated till August 2009. The spacecraft had then applied a PSLV-XL rocket. India, then also had emerged as the fourth nation in the globe to spot its flag on the Moon. Of some significance was the reality that the lunar mission carried 5 ISRO payloads and six payloads from other space agencies like NASA, ESA, and the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, which had been carried cost-free of price. The Indian message to the globe, of its benign objectives was salutary. This is what Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had envisioned when he had set up the nucleus of a space organization back in 1961 and we have been fulfilling his dream considering the fact that then. India has launched 328 satellites for 34 distinctive nations as of 7 November 2020. ISRO’s launch of 28th February 2021 added an additional chapter to its glory by placing into a geosynchronous orbit the Brazilian Satellite Amazonia-1 and other 18 co-passenger satellites from Sriharikota Range. The 637-kg Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the study unit of Brazil’s ministry of science.
This scenario changed nevertheless, when on March 27, 2019 India effectively performed an anti-satellite (ASAT) test. “India received both praise and flak for undertaking this test as some debris pieces reached higher altitudes and would remain there for longer than the government initially claimed”. A Kinetic Kill Vehicle was applied for this test which seemingly was terrific for “optics”, domestically and abroad. It currently served its objective for India.
In the properly-thought of explanation supplied by IDSA’s Space Commentator, Ajey Lele, “Hence, it is unlikely that India would ever take the space weaponization path. India’s test appears to be about sending a message and a demonstration of deterrence capability and its space technology capabilities. Now India needs to take an initiative towards starting a debate and convincing like minded countries to commit for the formulation of globally acceptable, verifiable, and legally binding space treaty mechanism”. Time has come possibly to arrive at a more pragmatic as properly as a more humanistic version of a “Outer Space Treaty” in the formation of which India would leave a deep imprint of the visions of the founding fathers of Indian State.
Simultaneously, it is vital for India to comprehend that by conducting this test it has redefined its strategic stance in the military space domain. The ASAT test is the starting of that course of action, not the finish.
As it can be noticed India has two interlinked and complimenting objectives and that firstly is to market the formation of a evolving “Space Forces” structure and secondly is to strive towards a strategically balancing space treaty.
(The author is a strategic affairs commentator. Views expressed are individual and do not reflect the official position or policy of the TheSpuzz Online.)