NASA Warns India's Anti-Satellite Test Threatens Space Station
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine strongly condemns India's recent anti-satellite missile test after it generates 400 pieces of dangerous space debris. Of those fragments, 24 travel higher than the International Space Station and put astronauts at direct risk.
India joins Russia, China, and the US as a recognized "space power" after successfully shooting down one of its own satellites with a missile. The test takes place ahead of upcoming national elections and appears to serve as a demonstration of military strength.
The destruction of the satellite at an altitude of 180 miles creates 400 pieces of orbital debris, including 60 trackable fragments measuring at least 10 centimeters across. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine reports that 24 of these pieces reach an apogee above the 254-mile orbit of the International Space Station.
Bridenstine strongly criticizes the test, calling the creation of threatening debris a "terrible, terrible thing" that remains incompatible with the future of human spaceflight. He emphasizes that this type of orbital hazard is completely unacceptable due to the direct danger it poses to astronauts living and working aboard the space station.