New Delhi: India’s medium-range air-to-air missile called Astra was on Sunday launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore.
News agency PTI quoted defence sources as saying that the sleek beyond visual range missile was fired from the launch complex-II of ITR, 15 km from here, at 1156 hrs IST.
They added that the missile, which has a length of 3570 mm and a diameter of 178 mm, has a range of 80 km and its launch speed was estimated to be 0.6 to 2.2 mach.
A team of scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Hyderabad and ITR was busy for the last few days at the range, making preparations for the launch.
About 826 families of Chandipur were to be shifted to temporary shelters, while the fishermen have been asked not to venture into sea within a radius of 20 KM on March 25,26 and 27.
The families have been housed in four temporary shelters where they will be provided food and entertainment. They will also be compensated for being displaced from their homes for a day.
However, sources were quoted as saying that the anticipated evacuation of people living in villages within a 2.5 km radius of the launch site was not undertaken as the missile was fired from an angle that did not affect the area.
The Astra may be tested again within the next two days. But as it was likely to be launched from a vertical position, there would be a need to evacuate over 6,100 people from nearby villages, the sources said.
The Astra was first launched on May 9, 2003 from the ITR and its second and third trials were conducted on May 11 and May 12, 2003 respectively at the same range.
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