NASA official criticizes Indian ASAT missile test

India successfully tested an anti-missile missile on the 27th of March. The test was a resounding success and showcased India’s missile technology. However, not everyone seems to be happy about the test. Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA has strongly criticized India’s test, saying that it created a dangerous field of debris that endangers not only the International Space Station (ISS), but also other satellites currently operating in orbit.

Bridenstine raised his concerns in a town hall meeting conducted with NASA employees. He said that even though the Indian government destroyed a satellite in low earth orbit at an altitude of 300 kilometers, some of the pieces of debris were propelled into higher orbit dangerously close to the ISS, which orbits at an altitude of 410 kilometers. Furthermore, Bridenstine also mentioned that of the hundreds of pieces of debris, about 60 were large enough to be tracked by military radars.

However, it was later said that there was no immediate threat to the ISS, which can be maneuvered into safety if required.

Many other experts also agreed that tests like those conducted by the Indian government set a bad precedent for other nations having their own missile programs.

Debris orbiting in space could be the size of a grain of rice or that of a basketball and bigger. Debris travels at speeds that far exceed the speed of sound and can tear through satellites, endangering space operations. Only time will tell if the debris from the Indian missile test would actually pose any credible threat.