Space conflict
IAF
Special
PSLV-C45 successfully launches EMISAT and 28 customer satellites
MILITARY SATELLITES AND THEIR ROLE IN CONFLICTS With varied topography that India is endowed with, satellites used for military purposes, can play a crucial role in situations of ongoing military conflict or even preceding one
Photograph: ISRO
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd) A military satellite is one that is placed in orbit in space to execute functions such as communications, navigation and reconnaissance that are related to a variety of tasks for the military, on the surface of the Earth. The first time a satellite was used for a task related to the military, was a mission for photographic reconnaissance. The United States (US) was the pioneer in this field having forayed into this domain as early as in the 1950s. Later, some attempts were also made by the US to develop satellites capable of fielding weapons to be used against targets located on the surface of the Earth or in space,
www.sps-aviation.com
but efforts in this direction were discontinued in 1967 following the ratification of international treaties banning the deployment of weapons of mass destruction on satellites in orbit. EARLY DAYS OF MILITARY SATELLITES The very first formal military satellite programme embarked on by the US in the early 1950s, was dubbed as Weapon System 117L. This programme had under it, a number of sub-programmes one of which was named as the Corona and the initial missions undertaken under this programme were code named
ISSUE 9 • 2020
3
