- TYPES OF MILITARY MISSILES
- THE INTEGRATED GUIDED MISSILE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
- SPACE EXPLORATION
UNIT 12 – NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY – PART 5
TYPES OF MILITARY MISSILES
Based on target and launching position, the military missiles are classified as –
- Air-to-Air Missile− This missile is carried by an aircraft and targets the enemy’s aircraft.
- Surface-to-Air− Such missiles are fired at enemy’s aircraft from the ground.
- Air-to-Surface− These missiles are fired at the enemy country’s ships, tankers, vehicles, bunkers, or military men from the aircraft.
- Surface-to-Surface− Such missiles are fired at enemy grounds from our grounds.
- Underwater − Such missiles target enemy locations in the water.
THE INTEGRATED GUIDED MISSILE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The Idea of Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) was conceptualized by the former President and eminent scientist, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The objective of this program was to enable India to attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology.
The missiles proposed under this program are −
- Prithvi − It is a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
- Trishul− It is a short-range surface-to-air missile.
- Akash− It is a medium-range surface-to-air missile.
- Nag− It is a third-generation anti-tank missile.
AGNI SERIES
Agni is a series of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles. Agni missiles are Medium-To-Long Range, nuclear weapons capable surface to surface ballistic missile.
In the series of Agni missiles, the first (Agni-I) missile was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program in the 1980s and it was first tested in 1989.
The following table lists down the different Agni missiles with their features
Name | Type | Range | Status |
AGNI-I | Medium-range ballistic missile | 700 – 1,250 km | Operational |
AGNI-II | Medium-range ballistic missile | 2,000 – 3,000 km | Operational |
AGNI-III | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | 3,500 – 5,000 km | Operational |
AGNI-IV | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | 3,000 – 4,000 km | Operational |
AGNI-V | Intercontinental ballistic missile | 5,000 – 8,000 km | Testing |
AGNI-VI | Intercontinental ballistic missile | 8,000 – 10,000 km | Under development |
SPACE EXPLORATION
The following table lists down the major space missions along with their timelines −
Mission | Year | Comment | Country |
WAC Corporal | 1946 | It was the first (US designed) rocket that reached the edge of space. | USA |
V-2 | 1946 | The first pictures of the Earth were taken from an altitude of 105 km. | USA |
R-1 | 1951 | First time dogs were sent to space. | USSR |
R-7 | 1957 | First intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) developed. | USSR |
Sputnik 1 | 1957 | First artificial satellite. | USSR |
Sputnik 2 | 1957 | First animal (dog named Laika) sent to the orbit. | USSR |
Explorer 6 | 1959 | First photograph of Earth taken from the orbit (by NASA). | USA |
Vostok I | 1961 | First manned flight carrying Yuri Gagarin | USSR |
OSO-1 | 1962 | First orbital solar observatory (by NASA). | USA |
Vostok 6 | 1963 | First woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova). | USSR |
Luna 10 | 1966 | First artificial satellite around the Moon. | USSR |
Apollo 8 | 1968 | First piloted orbital mission of Moon (by NASA). | USA |
Apollo 11 | 1969 | First human on the Moon and first space launch from a celestial body (by NASA) – Commander Neil Armstrong and Pilot Buzz Aldrin. | USA |
Luna 16 | 1970 | First automatic sample return from the Moon. | USSR |
Salyut 1 | 1971 | First space station. | USSR |
Pioneer 10 | 1972 | First human made object that had been sent on escape trajectory away from the Sun (by NASA). | USA |
Mariner 10 | 1974 | First photograph of Venus from Space (by NASA). | USA |
Venera 13 | 1982 | First Venus soil samples and sound recording of another world. | USSR |
STS-41-B | 1984 | First untethered spacewalk, Bruce McCandless II (by NASA). | USA |
Voyager 1 | 1990 | First photograph of the whole Solar System (by NASA). | USA |
Mir | 1995 | First Record longest duration spaceflight (i.e., 437.7 days) set by Valeri Polyakov. | Russia |
HALCA | 1997 | First orbital radio observatory. | Japan |
NEAR Shoemaker | 2000 | First orbiting of an asteroid (433 Eros) – by NASA. | USA |
NEAR Shoemaker | 2001 | First landing on an asteroid (433 Eros) – by NASA. | USA |
Genesis | 2004 | First sample return beyond lunar orbit (solar wind)- by NASA. | USA |
Cassini Huygens | 2005 | First soft landing on Titan (Moon of Saturn). | |
Hayabusa | 2005 | First interplanetary escape without undercarriage cutoff. | Japan |
Stardust | 2006 | First sample return from comet (81P/Wild) – by NASA. | USA |
Kepler Mission | 2009 | First space telescope designated to search for Earth-like exoplanets – by NASA. | USA |
MESSENGER | 2011 | First orbit of Mercury – by NASA. | USA |
Voyager 1 | 2012 | First manmade probe in interstellar space – by NASA. | USA |
Rosetta | 2014 | First man-made probe to make a planned and soft landing on a comet. | European Space Agency |
2015 | Lettuce was the first food eaten that was grown in space. | USA & Japan |
