India successfully tests anti-satellite missile capability; joins elite group of four along with US, Russia & China

Prime minister Narendra Modi has announced that India has demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite on a Low Earth Orbit. 

In his address to the nation, Mr Modi said, an Anti-Satellite Missile (A-SAT) destroyed the live satellite within three minutes. 

He said, this Mission Shakti operation was a difficult target to achieve which was completed successfully. 

The Prime Minister said, with this, India has registered herself as a space power today and till now only US, Russia and China have achieved this. He said, now India is the fourth country to achieve this feat.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu also congratulated Indian space scientists for Mission Shakti. In a tweet, he said, with the successful launch of anti-satellite missile, the country has emerged as a space superpower in the world. The Vice President said, everyone is proud of the achievement of Indian space scientists.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi also congratulated DRDO and said he is extremely proud of its work.

The Hindu