The head of NASA has condemned the destruction of a satellite in a recent Indian missile test, stating that new orbital debris poses a danger to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA head Jim Bridenstine explained that the test has created as many as 400 pieces of orbital debris, increasing the risk of a collision with the ISS by 44% over ten days.
Addressing NASA employees, Bridenstine said: “That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an event that sends debris at an apogee that goes above the International Space Station.”
“That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight,” he added.
Although the satellite was destroyed at a relatively low altitude of about 300 kilometers, according to Bridenstine, 24 pieces of debris pose a direct threat to the International Space Station (ISS).
Bridenstine strongly condemned the missile test, which has put increased strain on US efforts to track objects in space that might pose a threat to the ISS or to orbiting satellites: “It’s unacceptable and NASA needs to be very clear about what its impact to us is.”
He explained that NASA are currently tracking around 23,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters including 10,000 pieces of space debris, nearly 3,000 of which were created in a single event when China shot down a satellite in 2007.
Last week Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the successful missile test as “a proud moment for India”.
The announcement came in his first televised national address since late 2016.
“India has registered its name in the list of space superpowers. Until now, only three countries had achieved this feat,” he said.