Microsat-R


Microsat-R was an earth observing satellite manufactured by DRDO and launched by Indian Space Research Organisation and was meant for military use.

Launch

Microsat-R, along with KalamsatV2 as piggy-back, was launched on 24 January 2019 at 23:37 hrs from First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The launch marks the 46th flight of PSLV. After 13 minutes 26 seconds in flight, Microsat-R was injected at targeted altitude of about 277.2 km. This was the first flight of a new variant of PSLV called PSLV-DL with two strap-ons, each carrying 12.2-tonne of solid propellant.

Anti-satellite test

Microsat-R served as target for Indian ASAT experiment on March 27, 2019. The impact generated more than 400 pieces of orbital debris with 24 having apogee higher than ISS orbit. According to initial assessment by DRDO some of the debris should re-enter in 45 days. A spokesperson from NASA disagreed, saying the debris could last for years because the solar minimum had contracted the atmosphere that would otherwise cause the debris to be destroyed. Another research from a leading space trajectory and environment simulation company AGI has also came to same conclusion that certain debris will take more than a year to come down and other debris still might pose a risk to other satellites and ISS and these results were also presented in the 35th Space Symposium at Colorado Springs.