'MISSION SHAKTI' Full lift-off of A-SAT missile that has made India a space superpower accessed, watch the footage the nation is talking about here - Republic World

Republic Media Network has accessed footage of India's 'Mission Shakti'
The visuals capture the launch of the A-SAT (anti-satellite) missile
The missile targeted a satellite that was orbiting the Earth at a distance of 300 km (Low-Earth Orbit) and found its mark in just three minutes

On a day that India announced its credentials as a space superpower by joining an elite club of countries that have proven Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) weapons capabilities, Republic TV has exclusively accessed the footage that the nation is talking about.

The visuals in question carry a 27-March-2019 time-stamp - i.e. Wednesday. The A-SAT missile is clearly visible, unmarked and standing on what appears to be a movable rocket-launching platform located in what is unmistakably a missile launch facility - essentially a large open concretised area with tracks for the movable platform.

The pre-launch phase contains a countdown from 10. As the countdown expires, the missile's propulsion system kicks into life, its jet exhaust engulfing the entire area with smoke. The lift-off is clean, with the bullet-shaped A-SAT shooting straight upwards, leaving an enormous trail.

Within seconds, and just moments after mission control confirms the lift-off, the warhead is almost out of visual range, with only its copious jet-stream visible. The final word from mission control appears to be that the missile is within the desired corridor.

The speed of the missile's liftoff gives an indication as to how it traversed the 300km distance to the pre-determined satellite target that was at that point occupying a Low-Earth Orbit in just three minutes, as was mentioned by the Prime Minister while he announced the success of 'Mission Shakti'.


In tandem with his address to the nation where he made the announcement of Mission Shakti's success, the Prime Minister also tweeted hailing those who responsible for 'Mission Shakti' and also highlighted two key aspects that made the mission particularly special, pointing out that India is only the fourth country - after the US, China and Russia - to accomplish such a feat and also, that the entire effort was indigenous: