What is the full form of ASAT

ASAT

ASAT stands for Anti-satellite weapons. They are space weapons designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites. The race among the nations to develop ASAT is the result of the increase in the utilization of space as a medium of war since the time of Cold War Space Race. It allows a nation to attack and destroy enemy satellites in the event of war in order to sabotage the enemy's military operations.

According to some reports, Beijing conducted anti-satellite missile test in 2013 by launching its new ASAT (anti-satellite) missile, the Dong Neng-2 or DN-2. It has also conducted an anti-missile test in January 2007 when a KT-1 rocket was launched my Chinese military to destroy an unnecessary Chinese Feng Yun 1-C weather satellite in Low Earth Orbit.

Such developments by other countries made India rethink of its space policy. In 2012, V.K. Saraswat, chief of DRDO, announced that India has the all the arrangements to integrate an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in earth and polar orbits.

Brief History:

1. In the late 1950s the U.S. Air Force started advanced missile projects called Weapon System WS-199A.
2. In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union developed two launch platforms for the Vympel Anti-Satellite weapon system.
3. Russia conducted successful test of direct ascent anti-satellite missile called PL-19 Nudol on 18 November 2015. It again tested Nudol in May 2016 by launching it from the Plesetsk cosmodrome test launch facility.