{"id":13259,"date":"2019-04-02T22:53:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T14:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-chief-slams-india-anti-satellite-test\/"},"modified":"2019-04-02T22:53:25","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T14:53:25","slug":"nasa-chief-slams-india-anti-satellite-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-chief-slams-india-anti-satellite-test\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA chief slams India anti-satellite test"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n

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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks during a town hall meeting Monday at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Credit: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The successful test of an Indian anti-satellite weapon March 27 created a cloud of high-velocity debris that poses a near-term threat to other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, including the International Space Station, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told agency employees Monday. Indian officials said the threat was minimal.

But during a \u201ctown hall\u201d meeting at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Bridenstine said the anti-satellite weapon created at least 400 pieces of debris, including 60 trackable fragments that are four inches across or larger. Of that total, 24 ended up in orbits with high points, or apogees, above the 255 mile altitude of the space station.

Those fragments will steadily lose altitude due to the effects of atmospheric drag, making them a near-term threat that may require U.S. and Russian flight controllers to periodically reposition the lab complex to minimize the odds of a collision.

And collisions between bodies moving at orbital velocity \u2014 about 17,000 mph, or nearly five miles per second \u2014 are potentially catastrophic.

\u201cThat is a terrible, terrible thing, to create an event that sends debris in an apogee that goes above the International Space Station,\u201d Bridenstine said. \u201cThat kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human space flight that we need to see happen.\u201d

India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the successful test, dubbed Mission Shakti, after the Indian target satellite was destroyed, saying \u201cIndia has today established itself as a global space power.\u201d

\u201cSo far only three countries in the world, USA, Russia and China, had this capability,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, India has become the fourth country to acquire this status as a space power. There can be no bigger moment of pride for every Indian than this.\u201d

He said the test was \u201cnot directed against anyone\u201d and that India remains \u201copposed to the weaponization of space and an arms race in outer space, and this test does not in any way change this position. Today\u2019s test does not violate any international law or treaty obligation to which India is a party.\u201d

India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs said on its web site \u201cthe test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris. Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back onto the earth within weeks.\u201d

Analytical Graphics provided an early analysis of the impact, showing the assumed trajectories of the debris fragments.<\/p>\n